What is the IBM Personalized Index Calculator?

The IBM Personalized Index Calculator was created to help people with IBM monitor the progression of their disease. It works by asking registered users to answer 10 multiple-choice questions taken from the IBM Functional Rating Scale, or IBMFRS, an IBM-specific scale that has been used in clinical trials as an outcome measure. The questions asked are related to one's performance in daily living tasks, such as climbing stairs and writing by hand. The Calculator then combines a user's answers to generate a mobility score, a number between 0 and 40. A higher score indicates higher functional ability.

A key feature of the Calculator is that it allows users to answer the question set an unlimited number of times and to save their results every time. Thus, by updating their answers regularly, users are able to create a longitudinal picture of how their disease changes over time. Every mobility score report includes a set of graphs that allow a user to see 1) how they compare to their previous score, and 2) how they compare to the more than 900 respondents of our original 2012 demographics survey.

We strongly encourage all IBM patients to take advantage of this tool and invite caregivers, as well, to help answer for those in their care who might have difficulty completing the process on their own.