Wearable technology to capture arm use of stroke survivors in home and community settings: feasibility and early insights on motor performance.
- Resource Type
- Authors
- Demers M; School of Rehabilitation, Université de Montréal, Montreal (Qc), Canada.; Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy, Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.; Bishop L; Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy, Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.; Cain A; Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy, Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.; Saba J; Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy, Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.; Rowe J; Flint Rehabilitation Devices, Irvine (CA), USA.; Zondervan D; Flint Rehabilitation Devices, Irvine (CA), USA.; Winstein C; Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy, Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.; Department of Neurology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA.
- Source
- Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 101767986 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet NLM ISO Abbreviation: medRxiv Subsets: PubMed not MEDLINE
- Subject
- Language
- English
Objective: To establish short-term feasibility and usability of wrist-worn wearable sensors to capture arm/hand activity of stroke survivors and to explore the association between factors related to use of the paretic arm/hand.
Methods: 30 chronic stroke survivors were monitored with wrist-worn wearable sensors during 12h/day for a 7-day period. Participants also completed standardized assessments to capture stroke severity, arm motor impairments, self-perceived arm use and self-efficacy. Usability of the wearable sensors was assessed using the adapted System Usability Scale and an exit interview. Associations between motor performance and capacity (arm/hand impairments and activity limitations) were assessed using Spearman's correlations.
Results: Minimal technical issues or lack of adherence to the wearing schedule occurred, with 87.6% of days procuring valid data from both sensors. Average sensor wear time was 12.6 (standard deviation: 0.2) h/day. Three participants experienced discomfort with one of the wristbands and three other participants had unrelated adverse events. There were positive self-reported usability scores (mean: 85.4/100) and high user satisfaction. Significant correlations were observed for measures of motor capacity and self-efficacy with paretic arm use in the home and the community (Spearman's correlation ρs: 0.44-0.71).
Conclusions: This work demonstrates the feasibility and usability of a consumer-grade wearable sensor to capture paretic arm activity outside the laboratory. It provides early insight into stroke survivors' everyday arm use and related factors such as motor capacity and self-efficacy.
Impact: The integration of wearable technologies into clinical practice offers new possibilities to complement in-person clinical assessments and to better understand how each person is moving outside of therapy and throughout the recovery and reintegration phase. Insights gained from monitoring stroke survivors arm/hand use in the home and community is the first step towards informing future research with an emphasis on causal mechanisms with clinical relevance.