Utilization of wearable technology to assess gait and mobility post-stroke: a systematic review

BACKGROUND: Extremity weakness, fatigue, and postural instability often contribute to mobility deficits in persons after stroke. Wearable technologies are increasingly being utilized to track many health-related parameters across different patient populations. The purpose of this systematic review was to identify how wearable technologies have been used over the past decade to assess gait and mobility in persons with stroke. METHODS: We performed a systematic search of Ovid MEDLINE, CINAHL, and Cochrane databases using select keywords. We identified a total of 354 articles, and 13 met inclusion/exclusion criteria. Included studies were quality assessed and data extracted included participant demographics, type of wearable technology utilized, gait parameters assessed, and reliability and validity metrics. RESULTS: The majority of studies were performed in either hospital-based or inpatient settings. Accelerometers, activity monitors, and pressure sensors were the most commonly used wearable technologies to assess gait and mobility post-stroke. Among these devices, spatiotemporal parameters of gait that were most widely assessed were gait speed and cadence, and the most common mobility measures included step count and duration of activity. Only 4 studies reported on wearable technology validity and reliability metrics, with mixed results. CONCLUSION: The use of various wearable technologies has enabled researchers and clinicians to monitor patients’ activity in a multitude of settings post-stroke. Using data from wearables may provide clinicians with insights into their patients’ lived-experiences and enrich their evaluations and plans of care. However, more studies are needed to examine the impact of stroke on community mobility and to improve the accuracy of these devices for gait and mobility assessments amongst persons with altered gait post-stroke. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12984-021-00863-x.