Dr. Syam K.
Professor
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MBBS, Government Medical College, Kottayam, Kerala (Mahatma Gandhi University), 1998

MD, Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala (University of Kerala), Internal Medicine (General Medicine), 2002

DM, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST), Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, Neurology, 2005

December 2018 - Continuing : Professor of Neurology

January 2015 - December 2018: Additional Professor of Neurology, SCTIMST

January 2012 - December 2014: Associate Professor of Neurology, SCTIMST

January 2009 - December 2011: Assistant Professor of Neurology, SCTIMST

August 2008- December 2008: Senior Lecturer in Neurology, Government Medical College, Kozhikode, Kerala, India

February 2008- July 2008: Adhoc Consultant, Department of Neurology, SCTIMST.

January 2006 - January 2008 : Consultant Neurologist, St. Mary's Super-specialty Hospital, Thodupuzha, Kerala

Honorary Dean of the Faculty of Modern Medicine, Kannur University (2020-2022)

Best outgoing student- for MD (General Medicine), Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram (2002)

Second Rank in Mahatma Gandhi University for MBBS Examination (1997)

Travel Grant Award to attend the International Congress of Parkinson's disease and Movement Disorders, Madrid, Spain (September 2022)

Travel Grant Award to attend the International Congress of Parkinson's disease and Movement Disorders, Nice, France (September 2019)

Neurology India Award for the best research paper of 2016

Movement Disorders

Cognitive Neurology in the Context of Movement Disorders

Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT)- for the ICMR funded project on Gut Microbiome in Parkinson's disease

Member - International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society (MDS)

Life member of Movement Disorder Society of India (MDSI)

Life member - Neurological Society of India (NSI)

Life member - Indian Academy of Neurology (IAN)

Life Member - Kerala Association of Neurologists (KAN)

Life member- Indian Medical association

Principal Investigator- "Spiral Dx- Tremor Diagnosis using Artificial Intelligence" - Multicenter collaborative research project funded by the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India

Principal Investigator- Clinical Registry of Movement Disorders - Funded by the Movement Disorders Society of India

Co-Principal Investigator - Isolation and culturing of peripheral blood mononuclear cells in the buffy coat for selective differentiation into dopaminergic cells for cell-based therapeutic applications in Parkinson's disease (Funded by CUSAT, Kochi)

Co-Principal Investigator of the ICMR funded Project "Identification and Characterization of Ubiquitin and Neuronal-derived circulating exosomal cargoes in Parkinson's disease patients"

Co-Principal Investigator- Genetic Architecture of Parkinson's Disease in India (Funded by Michael J Fox Foundation, USA)

Co-Principal Investigator - Dementia Science Program- Incidence, prevalence and risk analysis of dementia and basic research thereof (Funded by Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India)

PI/ Co-PI for non-funded projects on: Evaluation of Pain as a non-motor symptom in Parkinson's disease using King's Parkinson Pain Scale; Impact of diabetes on the motor and non-motor manifestations of Parkinson's disease; Survival of Indian patients with Parkinson's disease who have undergone Deep Brain Stimulation surgery; Surgical Complications of Deep Brain Stimulation; Natural history of isolated focal dystonia etc.

Principal Investigator of ICMR-funded collaborative (with CUSAT, Kochi) project - Exploring the human gut microbiome, metabolome and alpha synuclein in health and Parkinson's disease (PD) - a window to the gut microbiota-brain axis alterations in PD.

Principal Investigator of DBT-funded project - Quantitative estimation of regional brain iron deposition- a potential biomarker for Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative conditions causing atypical Parkinsonism

Principal Investigator of ICMR-funded project - Validation of the Malayalam version of Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scale and a prospective evaluation of mild cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease using the Malayalam version (MoCA-M)

Co-Principal Investigator of the DST (SATYAM Program) funded project - Effects of Yoga on motor cortex plasticity, motor learning and motor deficits of Parkinson's disease

Evaluation of non-motor symptoms in patients with Parkinson's disease from Kerala using Non-Motor Symptoms Scale (NMSS)

Long-term follow-up of bilateral subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation for advanced Parkinson's disease patients

Do baseline clinical and Neuropsychological factors predict the occurrence of dementia on follow-up in patients with Parkinson's disease undergoing Deep Brain Stimulation surgery.

Apraxia of eye lid opening after bilateral Subthalamic nucleus Deep Brain Stimulation in Parkinson's disease

18 years of professional experience as a Neurologist, 16 years of professional experience as a teaching faculty in Neurology and 15 years of experience in the Neurological sub-specialty of Movement Disorders, as on December 31, 2023. Fifteen years of experience in specialized procedures like Deep Brain Stimulation and Botulinum Toxin Therapy for Movement Disorders

Deep Brain Stimulation in Parkinson's disease: challenges in developing countries, a retrospective analysis from tertiary care centre

Clinical profile and outcome of focal and segmental dystonia in adults treated with botulinum toxin injection-A Retrospective study from a tertiary care center in India

Sleep disturbances in Parkinson's disease

Validation of Malayalam version of Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) for use in patients with Parkinson's disease

Hearing impairment in Parkinson's disease

Effect of subthalamic nucleus Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery on impulsivity in Parkinson's disease patients

Non-motor fluctuations in patients with Parkinson's disease

Non-conventional stimulation paradigms for refractory symptoms in patients undergoing Deep Brain Stimulation for Parkinson's disease

Non-motor symptoms in patients with different sub-types of Parkinson's disease

Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) - Application of the new MDS diagnostic criteria and prognosis of PSP sub-types

Lipid profile in Parkinson's disease

Gender influence on selection for DBS and outcome of DBS in Parkinson's disease

Cognitive effects of Deep Brain Stimulation in Parkinson's disease

Member, Continuing Medical Education (CME) Committee, International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society (MDS) - 2025-2027

Executive Committee Member, Movement Disorders Society of India (MDSI) (2024-2027)

Member, Expert Committee on Human Microbiome, Center of Excellence in Microbiome (CoEM), Govt of Kerala

Associate Editor, Annals of Indian Academy of Neurology (The official journal of Indian Academy of Neurology)

Member, Continuing Medical Education Committee , International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society (2023-2025)

Member, Institutional Ethics Committee, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology

Organized (As Organizing Secretary) the 5th Annual Conference of the Movement Disorders Society of India (MDSICON 2020), January 31- February 2, 2020, Kovalam , Thiruvananthapuram. The three-day scientific event was attended by nine International Faculty, around 70 National Faculty and 550 Delegates from across India and near- by SAARC countries.

Professor of Neurology in-Charge of the Comprehensive Care Center for Movement Disorders (CCCMD), from December 2020

9th Asian and Oceanian Parkinson?s disease and Movement Disorders Congress (Tokyo, Japan; March 21- 23, 2025). Presented an original research paper on ?Long-term survival of patients with Parkinson?s disease undergoing bilateral subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation ? Indian experience?

8th Asian and Oceanian Parkinson's disease and Movement Disorders, Kolkata, India (March 2023): "Deep Brain Stimulation for Motor Complications of Parkinson's disease- considerations in a resource-poor setting"

International Parkinson and Movement Disorders Congress , Madrid, Spain (September 2022) : "Quantitative susceptibility mapping of basal ganglia and related structures: correlation with disease severity in Progressive Supranuclear Palsy"

8th Asian and Oceanian Parkinson's disease and Movement Disorders, Kolkata, India (March 2023): "Deep Brain Stimulation for Motor Complications of Parkinson?s disease- considerations in a resource-poor setting"

International Parkinson and Movement Disorders Congress , Nice, France (September 22-26, 2019) : "Mild Cognitive Impairment in Parkinson's disease in South Indian population - Development of a test battery and assessment of prevalence and characteristics"

The Fourth Asian and Oceanian Parkinson's disease and Movement Disorders Congress (AOPMC 2014), November 28-30, Pattaya, Thailand: "Cross Cultural adaptation of Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scale retains in validity for use in patients with Parkinson's disease"

The Third Asian and Oceanian Parkinson's disease and Movement Disorders Congress (AOPMC 2011) and the 8th International Symposium of Asian and Pacific Parkinson Association, March 25th-27th, 2011, Taipei, Taiwan: "Non-motor Symptoms are ubiquitous in Parkinson's disease and distinct from normal aging: a case-control study using Non-Motor Symptoms Scale"

19th Annual Conference of the Indian Academy of Neurology (IANCON 2011), September 22 -25, 2011, Pune. Title of the paper presented: "Ten years follow up of Subthalamic nucleus DBS for advanced Parkinson's disease"

Annual Conference of the Indian Academy of Neurology, 24th-27th October, 2013, Indore (IANCON 2013). Title of the paper presented: "Bilateral Subthalamic Nucleus Stimulation improves Non-Motor Symptoms in advanced Parkinson's disease"

24th Annual Conference of the Indian Academy of Neurology, 10th - 13th November 2016, Kolkata. (IANCON 2016). Presented a research paper on "Dementia-free survival after bilateral subthalamic stimulation for Parkinson's disease"

2nd Annual Conference of the Movement Disorders Society of India, 6th - 8th January 2017, Bangalore (MDSICON 2017). Presented a research paper on "What predicts an early onset of dementia in non-demented patients undergoing subthalamic stimulation for Parkinson's disease"

Invited Faculty for the PRAI-KCL (Parkinson?s Research Alliance of India- King?s College, London) Symposium- 2026 (7th February, 2026), Thiruvananthapuram. Delivered a talk on ?Long-term outcome of Deep Brain Stimulation for Parkinson?s disease- Indian Experience?

Invited faculty for the 12th Clinical Neurology Teaching Course for Neurology Post-Graduates and Consultants- 24th and 25th of January, 2026, organized by the Kerala Association of Neurologists (KAN) at Government Medical College, Kottayam.

Invited faculty for the Deep Brain Stimulation Workshop organized by the All India Institute for Medical Sciences (AIIMS) New Delhi (19th ? 20th December, 2025). Delivered a talk on ?Long-term outcomes in Deep Brain Stimulation ? Indian Experience.?

Invited faculty for the 9th Annual Conference of the Movement Disorders Society of India, Varanasi ( 28th February- 2nd March 2025). Delivered a talk on ?Treatment of early Parkinson?s disease?.

Invited Faculty for the 32nd Annual Conference of the Indian Academy of Neurology (IANCON 2025), held on 29th October ? 2nd November, 2025, at Varanasi. Delivered a talk on ?Ataxic disorders- therapeutic approaches and prognostic insights?

Invited faculty for the 11th Clinical Neurology Teaching Course for Neurology Post-Graduates and Consultants- 4th and 5th of January, 2025, organized by the Kerala Association of Neurologists (KAN) at Government Medical College, Alappuzha

Invited faculty for the CREST Neuro-conclave 2025 (New Delhi, January 9th ? 12th 2025), organised by the Consortium for Research, Education, Social Awareness and Training in Neurosciences.

Invited faculty for the 10th Clinical Neurology Teaching Course for Neurology Post-Graduates and Consultants- 23rd and 24th of March, 2024, organized by the Kerala Association of Neurologists (KAN) at Amritha Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi.

Invited faculty for the 8th Annual Conference of the Movement Disorders Society of India, Ahmedabad (22nd-25th February, 2024). Delivered a talk on Apraxia in Movement Disorders.

Invited Faculty for the National CME by the Indian Psychiatric Society held at Thiruvananthapuram (4th ? 5th May, 2024). Delivered a talk on Assessment of Frontal Lobe functions

Invited Faculty for the 3rd Symposium of the Indian Rare Movement Disorders Consortium, at Bangalore (12th ? 14th April, 2024), organized by the Department of Neurology, NIMHANS, Bangalore.

Invited Faculty for the 3rd Annual Scientific Meeting of the LuX-GIANT (Luxembourg-German-Indian Alliance on Neurodegenerative Diseases and Therapeutics) Consortium (July 13-14, 2024) at Kochi, India

Invited Faculty for the PRAI-KCL (Parkinson?s Research Alliance of India- King?s College, London) Symposium- 2024 (11th February, 2024), Hyderabad.

Invited Faculty for the 31st Annual Conference of Indian Academy of Neurology (IANCON 2024), held in September 2024, at Visakhapatnam. Delivered a talk on Drug-Induced Movement Disorder emergencies

Invited Faculty- National CME on "Physiology in Clinical Practice- Strategies, Scope and Challenges". August 1, 2023. Organized by the Department of Physiology, AIIMS, Patna, Bihar. Topic: "Deep Brain Stimulation for Movement Disorders- Neurophysiology, Targets and Intra-operative monitoring"

Invited Faculty- 7th Annual Conference of Movement Disorders Society of India (MDSICON 2023). Kolkata, March 2023. Topic : "Drug repurposing in Movement Disorders"

Invited Faculty- KAN Monsoon Summit - International Neurology Update 2023- July 14-16, 2023, Kochi, India

Invited Faculty - Workshop on Neurodegeneration and Neurogenetics - the Future of Indian Collaboration. May 6th - 7th, Bangalore, India

Faculty for the 9th Clinical Teaching Program, Organized by the Kerala Association of Neurologists (KAN) (Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram; 21-22 January, 2023)

Invited Faculty- 6th Annual Conference of Movement Disorders Society of India (MDSICON 2021-2022); 13th-15th May 2022, Mumbai. Topic: "Understanding tremor syndromes"

Invited Faculty for Clinical Neurology Online Course, organized by the Pediatric neurology subsection of Indian Academy of Neurology. 12th June 2022. Topic : "The child with movement disorder - clinical approach"

Dr Jacob Roy Memorial CME- Cognitive Assessment in Adults . Thiruvananthapuram, December 18, 2022. Topic: : "Assessment of Praxis and Gait"

Invited faculty for the National Training Program on Deep Brain Stimulation, organized by the ECMT (European Continuing Medical Training) , Kochi , India (23- 24 April, 2022)

Annual Conference of the Kerala Association of Neurologists - Poovar, Thiruvananthapuram, 4th and 5th June, 2022. Topic: ?Complex Case Scenarios in Movement Disorders- How do I manage??

Invited Faculty for the Annual Conference of Neurological Society of India- Kerala Chapter (Travancore Neurocon -2022) - Kovalam, 6th - 8th May 2022. Topic: "Deep Brain Stimulation in Non-Parkinson?s disease Movement Disorders"

Faculty for the 8th Clinical Teaching Program, Organized by the Kerala Association of Neurologists (KAN) (Medical College, Alapuzha; 15th - 16th January, 2022)

Invited Faculty for the National CME (Conducted in Virtual mode) on "Add on therapies in Parkinson's disease- Wings of Change" , by NIMHANS, Bangalore (January 24, 2021). Delivered a talk on "Lesioning Surgeries and DBS in PD"

Faculty for the 7th Clinical Teaching Program, Organized by the Kerala Association of Neurologists (KAN) (Online mode; February 27-28, 2021)

Invited Faculty for the Movement Disorders Session in the "Virtual Agrim Neurology Update (VANU)" (16th - 18th October 2020) organized in Virtual Mode by the Agrim Neurosciences Trust, Indian Academy of Neurology and Movement Disorders Society of India

Invited Faculty for the 5th Annual Conference of The Movement Disorders Society of India (January 31- February 2, 2020, Kovalam, Thiruvananthapuram). Delivered a talk on "Tic Disorders and Tourette Syndrome"

Invited Faculty for the 44th Annual Conference of the Association of Physicians of India, Kerala Chapter (18th - 19th January, 2020). Delivered a lecture on "Diagnosis and Management of Parkinson's disease- a Pragmatic approach"

Faculty for the 6th Clinical Teaching Program, Organized by the Kerala Association of Neurologists (KAN) (Medical College, Kottayam; 4th -5th January, 2020)

Invited Faculty for the Deep Brain Stimulation in Movement Disorders course organized by the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society Asian and Oceanian Section (MDS-AOS) (Hyderabad, November 8-10, 2019). Participated in DBS Programming workshop

Invited Faculty for International CME "The 3D Approach to Movement Disorders" organized in Chennai by the Madras Neuro Trust (29- 31 August 2019). Delivered a faculty lecture on "Differential Diagnosis of Tic Disorders"

Invited Faculty for the 4th Annual Conference of the Movement Disorders Society of India (New Delhi, 22nd - 24th February, 2019), for the Deep Brain Stimulation workshop

Faculty for the 5th Clinical Teaching Program, Organized by the Kerala Association of Neurologists (KAN) (Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram; January 12-13, 2019)

Faculty for the mid term state conference of Kairali Neuroscience Society (Alapuzha, October 28, 2018). Delivered a lecture on "Diagnosis and Management of Dystonia"

Invited faculty in the live workshop and symposium on "Deep Brain Stimulation for Parkinson's disease" conducted by the Department of Neurosciences, Sree Venkateshwara Institute of Medical Sciences (SVIMS), Tirupati (25th - 26th May 2018)

Invited faculty for the Continuing Medical Education Program on Movement Disorders, organized by the Department of Neurosciences, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, on 24th March, 2018 at Manipal. Delivered a lecture on "Surgery for Movement Disorders- Indications and pre-operative evaluation"

Invited faculty for the 7th Annual Conference of the Neurological Surgeons Society of India, 23rd- 25th February 2018, Lucknow (NSSICON 2018). Delivered a lecture on "Evaluation of patients with Movement Disorders and selection criteria for surgery"

Invited faulty for the Annual Conference of the Kairali Neuroscience Society, 10th - 11th February 2018, Kottayam. Delivered a lecture on "Deep Brain Stimulation for Parkinson's disease- when and in whom"

Invited faculty for the 3rd Annual Conference of the Movement Disorders Society of India, 19th - 21st January 2018, Hyderabad (MDSICON 2018). Delivered a lecture on "Impulse control disorders in Parkinson's disease and impact of Deep Brain Stimulation"

Faculty for the 4th Clinical Teaching Program, Organized by the Kerala Association of Neurologists (KAN)(Medical College, Alapuzha, 9th - 10th December 2017)

Invited faculty in the Continuing Medical Education program on Functional Neurosurgery for Parkinson's disease and Psychiatric disorders, organized by the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi (January 22, 2017). Delivered a lecture on Intra-operative monitoring and programming of DBS for Parkinson's disease.

Invited faculty in the two-day symposium on "Neural functions of the Ageing Brain" held at the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB), Thiruvananthapuram (27th - 28th September, 2016). Delivered a lecture on "Relationship between ageing and Parkinson's disease- where do we stand"

Invited faculty for the Mid-term Meeting of Kerala Association of Neurologists held at Thiruvananthapuram (25th October 2015). Delivered a lecture on Psychogenic Movement Disorders.

Article

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Metta V, Mridula R, Hosurkar G, Wadia P, Sankhla C, Agarwal P, Gurram S, Garg D, Mehta S, Kumar H, Ganguly J, Rajan R, Elavarasi A, Desai S, Sahoo LK, Shankar V, Joshi D, Krishnan S, Kola S, Barad N, Holla V, Chacko J, Kumar S, Kishore A, Kukkle PL, Alogolu R, Goyal V, Dhamija KR, Chaudhuri KR, Borgohain R. , Deep brain stimulation for Parkinson's disease in India: an expert consensus on availability, affordability, and eligibility by the Parkinson's research alliance India (PRAI), J Neural Transm (Vienna). , 2026, Feb 3. doi: 10.1007/s00702-026-03106-2., https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41632232/
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Sayooja Sachithanandan , Athul Sreelatha Sanjeev, Jissa Vinoda Thulaseedharan, Krishnakumar Kesavapisharady, Divya Kalikavil Puthanveedu, Asish Vijayaraghavan, Gangadhara Sarma, Syam Krishnan, Asha Kishore , Survival after Subthalamic Deep Brain Stimulation for Parkinson?s Disease: 25-Year Experience from a Single Center, Mov Disord Clin Pract, 2025, Sep 22. doi: 10.1002/mdc3.70361. Online ahead of print., https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40977242/
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Sachithanandan S, Vijayaraghavan A, Venugopal R, Puthenveedu DK, Krishnan S., Pharmacotherapy in Early Parkinson's Disease: A Pragmatic Approach., Ann Indian Acad Neurol ., 2025, 28(4):512-518. doi: 10.4103/aian.aian_676_25., https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40820835/
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Bharanidharan G, Vijayaraghavan A, Krishnan S, Divya KP, Sundaram S. , Chorea in a Patient With GRID2-Related Disorder: Expanding the Phenotypic Spectrum Beyond Cerebellar Ataxia and Tonic Upgaze, J Mov Disord, 2026, 19(1):111-113. doi: 10.14802/jmd., https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41151789/
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Sachithanandan S, Krishnan S, Urulangodi M, Puthenveedu DK, Vijayaraghavan A, Expanding the Genotype Spectrum- A Novel POLR3B Variant in 4H Leukodystrophy. , Ann Indian Acad Neurol ., 2025, Nov 18. doi: 10.4103/aian.aian_760_25. Online ahead of print., https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41643178/
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Kishore A, Borgohain R, Puthenveedu DK, Rajan R, Pal PK, Kandadai RM, Yadav R, Mehta S, Kumar H, Kumar N, Kukkle PL, Desai S, Shetty K, Wadia P, Aggarwal A, Agarwal PA, Abbas MM, Krishnan S, Madathiparambil Radhakrishnan D, Wali GM, Srivastava A, Kamble N, Ferreira TMDC, Lal V, Kumar Sreelatha AA, Gonzalez-Ricardo LG, Chacko M, Sharma M , Demographic and Clinical Profiles of Parkinson's Disease in India: Observations from a Nation-Wide Multicenter Study, Mov Disord, 2025, 40(10):2220-2233. doi: 10.1002/mds.30310., https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40741694/
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Lakshmi Priya L, Asish Vijayaraghavan, Syam Krishnan, Phenotypic variability in ATP13A2 mutations-First Report of SPG78 from India. , J Mov Disord ., 2025, 18(4):369-371. doi: 10.14802/jmd.25100. , https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40583806/
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Sayooja Sachithanandan , Krishnakumar Pisharody , Asish Vijayaraghavan , Lokesh V Dasarathan , Divya Kalikavil Puthenveedu , Syam Krishnan. , Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia Type 7 With Early-Onset Parkinsonism Responsive to Subthalamic Deep Brain Stimulation. , Ann Indian Acad Neurol, 2025, 28(6):925-927. doi: 10.4103/aian.aian_458_25., https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40673419/
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Sachithanandan S , Vijayaraghavan A, Koshy KG, Puthanveedu DK, Krishnan S. , Catch Me If You Can! - The "Whack-a-Mole" Sign for Functional Tremor. , Ann Indian Acad Neurol , 2025, 28(2):294-295. doi: 10.4103/aian.aian_760_24., https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40042521/
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Anandapadmanabhan R, Vishnoi A, Raman G, Thachan J, Gangaraju BA, Radhakrishnan D, Vishnu VY, Kamble N, Holla V, James P, Srivastava A, Joshi D, Mahabal A, Krishnan S, Pal P, Rajan R. , Deep Learning-Based Artificial Intelligence Algorithm to Classify Tremors from Hand-Drawn Spirals. , Mov Disord, 2025, 40(6):1172-1181. doi: 10.1002/mds.30176. , https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40095435/