An accurate method of measuring shoulder sling compliance: a validation study

BACKGROUND: The effect of postoperative shoulder sling compliance on surgical outcomes is unknown. The goal was to determine an accurate method to measure sling compliance. We compared volunteer recorded sling wear time with temperature-based sensors to monitor sling compliance. METHODS: Data loggers sutured at three locations measured heat generated in 15-minute intervals. Slings wearers logged sling wear to accurately cross-reference with temperature sensors. Secondary experiments analyzed whether surrounding ambient temperature can be discerned from actual sling wear. We created an algorithm to describe actual sling wear time as a function of heat recorded and calculated percent wear accuracy. RESULTS: The modified sling was worn for 172 h. The algorithm modeled sling on/off times by analyzing cutoff temperatures. Diagnostic accuracy was >99 % for the three locations, with no statistically significant differences among them. Compared with sling wear, ambient temperature took longer to reach critical temperature values determined by the algorithm, helping distinguish compliance from false positives. CONCLUSIONS: The described algorithm can effectively quantify shoulder sling wear time based on heat-generated sensor readings. False positives from ambient temperature are minimal. This measurement method could be used to study the relationship between postoperative sling use and functional outcomes after shoulder surgery. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12891-021-04396-1.