Sensor Fusion to Infer Locations of Standing and Reaching within the Home in Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury

Am J Phys Med Rehabil, 2017 · DOI: 10.1097/PHM.0000000000000750 · Published: October 1, 2017

Spinal Cord Injury Assistive Technology Rehabilitation

Simple Explanation

The study aims to monitor standing and reaching activities in individuals with incomplete spinal cord injuries (iSCI) within a home environment. The system uses a combination of a thigh-worn accelerometer to detect sitting or standing and wrist-worn RF modules to detect reaching at specific locations. The system's accuracy was tested in a mock kitchen setting, where participants performed stand-to-reach tasks at three different locations.

Study Duration

Not specified

Participants

Ten individuals with incomplete spinal cord injuries

Evidence Level

Not specified

Key Findings

1
The sensor fusion system achieved an average accuracy of 98% in inferring stand-to-reach activities at different locations.
2
The fridge location had the highest accuracy (100%), followed by the cupboard (98.4%) and the shelf (95.2%).
3
Sensor fusion of accelerometer and RF tags data allowed accurate detection of the sequence of standing to reach events.

Research Summary

This study presents a system that combines accelerometry and RF tags to accurately assess standing and reaching activities within a home environment for individuals with incomplete spinal cord injuries. The system demonstrated high accuracy in a mock kitchen setting, suggesting its potential for tracking at-home progression of patients undergoing rehabilitation. Further optimization of this technology could allow clinicians to assess rehabilitation strategies and the value of assistive devices in improving activities of daily living.

Practical Implications

Remote Monitoring

The technology can be used to monitor patients' functional activities at home, providing clinicians with valuable data on their progress and adherence to rehabilitation programs.

Personalized Rehabilitation

The system can help tailor rehabilitation programs to individual patients' needs by providing objective data on their performance of specific tasks in their home environment.

Assistive Device Assessment

The technology can be used to assess the effectiveness of assistive devices, such as standing wheelchairs or robotic exoskeletons, in improving patients' ability to perform activities of daily living.

Study Limitations

1
The study required participants to wear two devices, which could impact patient compliance in long-term use.
2
The inference model assumed that participants would not move between locations while standing, which may not always be the case in real-world scenarios.
3
The study was conducted in a mock kitchen environment, and the system's performance may vary in different home environments with varying layouts and signal propagation characteristics.

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