Monitoring Functional Capability of Individuals with Lower Limb Amputations Using Mobile Phones

Abstract

To be effective, a prescribed prosthetic device must match the functional requirements and capabilities of each patient. These capabilities are usually assessed by a clinician and reported by the Medicare K-level designation of mobility. However, it is not clear how the K-level designation objectively relates to the use of prostheses outside of a clinical environment. Here, we quantify participant activity using mobile phones and relate activity measured during real world activity to the assigned K-levels. We observe a correlation between K-level and the proportion of moderate to high activity over the course of a week. This relationship suggests that accelerometry-based technologies such as mobile phones can be used to evaluate real world activity for mobility assessment. Quantifying everyday activity promises to improve assessment of real world prosthesis use, leading to a better matching of prostheses to individuals and enabling better evaluations of future prosthetic devices.

Current Use of Telemedicine for Post-Discharge Surgical Care: A Systematic Review

“…Some studies provided all or part of the necessary technology to participants, 44–46,51 but many did not, to the exclusion of otherwise eligible participants. In their study of a remote medication adherence protocol in kidney transplant patients, McGillicuddy and colleagues 44 excluded 12.2% of patients who had agreed to participate due to inadequate cellular coverage in their homes.…”

Usability of Mobile Phones in Physical Activity–Related Research: A Systematic Review

“…Eleven [66][67][68][69][70][71][89][90][91][92] of the 19 studies that evaluated mobile phones for PA assessment were carried out within the context of health enhancement/chronic disease prevention. The remaining studies concerned weight control (n ¼ 4) 72,93-95 and chronic disease management (n ¼ 4).…”

“…Another study 73 also used a mobile application in conjunction with external sensors to track PA data. Similarly, 4 studies took advantage of the mobile phone's built-in accelerometer 67,74 or accelerometer-based mobile applications 93,94 to capture PA data. Two studies 66,72 administered ecological momentary assessment (EMA) via a mobile application and mobile phone calls.…”

Interrater reliability of mechanical tests for functional classification of transtibial prosthesis components distal to the socket

“…This process of improving the functional classification (via L-codes) of prosthetic components through standardized mechanical tests mirrors the recent efforts in improving functional mobility and rehabilitation potential classification (via K-levels [9]) of prosthesis users through standardized outcome measures [12][13][14][15]. These efforts demonstrate the current evolution of the prosthetic profession in driving to enhance the objectivity, accuracy, and precision of the process of classifying and matching prostheses and patients, as is reflected in current research on this topic [16][17][18][19][20][21][22].…”