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Wearable technology to capture arm use of stroke survivors in home and community settings: feasibility and early insights on motor performance

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 wear...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Demers, Marika, Bishop, Lauri, Cain, Amelia, Saba, Joseph, Rowe, Justin, Zondervan, Daniel, Winstein, Carolee
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9901039/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36747651
http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/2023.01.25.23284790
Descripción
Sumario: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.