Background: Social networking sites can be beneficial for senior citizens to promote social participation and to enhance intergenerational communication. Particularly for older adults with impaired mobility, social networking sites can help them to connect with family members and other active social networking users. The aim of this systematic review is to give an overview of existing scientific literature on social networking in older users.

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This study proposes a new robust classifier for sit-to-stand (SiSt) and stand-to-sit (StSt) detection in daily activity. The monitoring system consists of a single inertial sensor placed on the trunk. By using dynamic time warping, the trunk acceleration patterns of SiSt and StSi are classified based on their similarity with specific templates. The classification algorithm is validated with actual data obtained in a real-world environment (five healthy subjects and five chronic pain patients); the best accuracy is obtained through using a custom template defined for each subject ( > 95% for healthy subjects and 89% for chronic pain). Real-world examinations are found to be preferable because after validating results collected in both real-world and laboratory conditions, the controlled conditions' predictions are too optimistic. Finally, the potential of the new method in clinical evaluation is studied in both healthy and frail elderly subjects. Frail elderly participants show a significantly lower rate of postural transitions, longer SiSt duration, and lower SiSt trunk tilt and acceleration compared to healthy elderly subjects. We conclude that the proposed wearable system provides a simple method to detect and characterize postural transitions in healthy, chronic pain, and frail elderly subjects.

The aim of this study was to investigate the alteration of the gait pattern in 25 children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, using body-worn inertial sensors during a long walking distance. Normalized spatiotemporal gait parameters and their variability were extracted from the angular velocity of the shanks; the smoothness of the trunk movement was assessed based on the spectral entropy of the acceleration norm. As compared to healthy children, patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy showed significantly lower stride velocity and a less smooth trunk movement. When the group of patients was divided into mild and moderate based on the Motor Function Measure, the authors noticed significantly higher values both for cadence and stride velocity, as well as improved trunk smoothness in the mild versus moderate group. The potential of such parameters to distinguish between different disease states opens new perspectives for the objective assessment of efficacy of the new therapies associated with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

The aim of this study was to propose a methodology allowing a detailed characterization of body sit-to-stand/stand-to-sit postural transition. Parameters characterizing the kinematics of the trunk movement during sit-to-stand (Si-St) postural transition were calculated using one initial sensor system fixed on the trunk and a data logger. Dynamic complexity of these postural transitions was estimated by fractal dimension of acceleration-angular velocity plot. We concluded that this method provides a simple and accurate tool for monitoring frail elderly and to objectively evaluate the efficacy of a rehabilitation program.