Using Accelerometers to Count Steps After Surgery
Author Information
Author(s): Spiros Tsamassiotis, Michael Schwarze, Philipp Gehring, Roman F. Karkosch, Lars‐René Tücking, Ann‐Kathrin Einfeldt, Eike Jakubowitz
Primary Institution: Hannover Medical School
Hypothesis
Only accelerometers can accurately determine the number of steps taken by orthopaedic patients in the early post-operative phase.
Conclusion
Commercial wearables can only accurately count steps under specific conditions and should be used cautiously for monitoring steps in the early post-operative phase.
Supporting Evidence
- Accelerometers showed the lowest relative error in counting steps compared to other wearables.
- The best measuring location for accuracy was identified as the ankle.
- Commercial wearables performed poorly at slow walking speeds typical of post-operative patients.
- Only the AX6 accelerometer achieved an acceptable accuracy at the slowest walking speed tested.
Takeaway
This study shows that special devices called accelerometers can help count how many steps patients take after surgery, which is important for their recovery.
Methodology
The study involved 20 healthy subjects walking with different aids and wearables, comparing their step counts to a manual count.
Potential Biases
Potential bias due to the small sample size and the use of healthy subjects instead of actual post-operative patients.
Limitations
The study had a small number of participants and only included healthy subjects, which may not represent all orthopaedic patients.
Participant Demographics
20 medical students, 7 females and 13 males, average age 25.1 years.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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