Novel algorithm for a smartphone-based 6-minute walk test application: algorithm, application development, and evaluatio
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JNER
JOURNAL OF NEUROENGINEERING AND REHABILITATION
RESEARCH
Open Access
Novel algorithm for a smartphone-based 6-minute walk test application: algorithm, application development, and evaluation Nicole A Capela1,3*, Edward D Lemaire1,2† and Natalie Baddour3†
Abstract Background: The 6-minute walk test (6MWT: the maximum distance walked in 6 minutes) is used by rehabilitation professionals as a measure of exercise capacity. Today’s smartphones contain hardware that can be used for wearable sensor applications and mobile data analysis. A smartphone application can run the 6MWT and provide typically unavailable biomechanical information about how the person moves during the test. Methods: A new algorithm for a calibration-free 6MWT smartphone application was developed that uses the test’s inherent conditions and smartphone accelerometer-gyroscope data to report the total distance walked, step timing, gait symmetry, and walking changes over time. This information is not available with a standard 6MWT and could help with clinical decision-making. The 6MWT application was evaluated with 15 able-bodied participants. A BlackBerry Z10 smartphone was worn on a belt at the mid lower back. Audio from the phone instructed the person to start and stop walking. Digital video was independently recorded during the trial as a gold-standard comparator. Results: The average difference between smartphone and gold standard foot strike timing was 0.014 ± 0.015 s. The total distance calculated by the application was within 1 m of the measured distance for all but one participant, which was more accurate than other smartphone-based studies. Conclusions: These results demonstrated that clinically relevant 6MWT results can be achieved with typical smartphone hardware and a novel algorithm. Keywords: Rehabilitation, Gait, Mobile computing, Smartphone, Accelerometers, Body-worn sensors, Inertial measurement unit, Application software, Software design
Background In a healthcare environment, exercise capacity measurement is important for understanding a person’s current status and evaluating rehabilitation improvement. The 6 minute walk test (6MWT), where the distance walked in 6 minutes is measured, is a common clinical tool for this purpose. A smartphone with integrated sensors provides a viable platform for wearable biomechanical applications. For the 6MWT, wearable analysis can derive additional information with minimal additional setup, providing clinically useful and immediate output for * Correspondence: [email protected] † Equal contributors 1 Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Canada 3 Mechanical Engineering, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
evaluating physical function and gait characteristics at the point of patient contact, without the need to purchase specialized medical equipment. Wearable sensors allow a person to walk freely, at a self-selected and natural pace that is more representative of daily living than some laboratory conditions [1]
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