Inertial sensors as measurement tools of elbow range of motion in gerontology

Abstract

Background and purpose

Musculoskeletal system deterioration among the aging is a major reason for loss of autonomy and directly affects the quality of life of the elderly. Articular evaluation is part of physiotherapeutic assessment and helps in establishing a precise diagnosis and deciding appropriate therapy. Reference instruments are valid but not easy to use for some joints. The main goal of our study was to determine reliability and intertester reproducibility of the MP-BV, an inertial sensor (the MotionPod^® [MP]) combined with specific software (BioVal [BV]), for elbow passive range-of-motion measurements in geriatrics.

Methods

This open, monocentric, randomized study compared inertial sensor to inclinometer in patients hospitalized in an acute, post-acute, and long-term-care gerontology unit.

Results

Seventy-seven patients (mean age 83.5±6.4 years, sex ratio 1.08 [male/female]) were analyzed. The MP-BV was reliable for each of the three measurements (flexion, pronation, and supination) for 24.3% (CI 95% 13.9–32.8) of the patients. Separately, the percentages of reliable measures were 59.7% (49.2–70.5) for flexion, 68.8% (58.4–79.5) for pronation, and 62.3% (51.2–73.1) for supination. The intraclass correlation coefficients were 0.15 (0.07–0.73), 0.46 (0.27–0.98), and 0.50 (0.31–40 0.98) for flexion, pronation, and supination, respectively.

Conclusion

This study shows the convenience of the MP-BV in terms of ease of use and of export of measured data. However, this instrument seems less reliable and valuable compared to the reference instruments used to measure elbow range of motion in gerontology.

Keywords:

• reliability
• intertester reproducibility
• inclinometer

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Eric Fontas for his methodological support and Mathilde Demory for reviewing the English. We thank Marie Geronimi from RM Ingénieurie and Yanis Caritus from MOVEA for the technical informations. We also wish to thank the physiotherapists from the Gerontology Department (Damian Argini, Urko Larranaga, and Jérôme Danfali) and the rehabilitation health care manager Valérie Victor, as well as Professor Alain Franco and Mr Patrick Malléa.

Disclosure

This study benefited from Ministry of Industry funding within the Centre for Innovation and Health Usage (Centre d’Innovation et d’Usage en Santé [CIU-S]). MP-BV developers were part of the initial CIU-S project consortium. The statistical outcomes analysis was independently realized by the DRCI and the data interpretation was performed by physicians from the public hospital. Participants for this study (physicians, physiotherapists) who were involved in this research protocol and in the interpretation of the outcomes did not receive any specific compensation. The authors report no other conflicts of interest in this work.