Smartphone Technology to Facilitate Remote Postural Balance Assessment in Acute Concussion Management: Pilot Study
Impaired balance is a key symptom following acute concussion. Unfortunately, the recommended clinical balance assessment lacks sensitivity and discriminative ability, relying on the experience of the clinician for interpretation. The aim of this pilot study is to explore smartphone technology to rem...
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MDPI AG
2024-10-01
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| Series: | Sensors |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/24/21/6870 |
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| author | Oren Tirosh Jaymee Klonis Megan Hamilton John Olver Nilmini Wickramasinghe Dean Mckenzie Doa El-Ansary Gavin Williams |
| author_facet | Oren Tirosh Jaymee Klonis Megan Hamilton John Olver Nilmini Wickramasinghe Dean Mckenzie Doa El-Ansary Gavin Williams |
| author_sort | Oren Tirosh |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Impaired balance is a key symptom following acute concussion. Unfortunately, the recommended clinical balance assessment lacks sensitivity and discriminative ability, relying on the experience of the clinician for interpretation. The aim of this pilot study is to explore smartphone technology to remotely assess balance impairment in people with acute concussion. A smartphone app was developed to allow the clinician to connect remotely using their personal web browser to the participant’s smartphone and collect motion data while instructing the participant to perform the following balance tests: standing on firm and foam surface with eyes opened and closed (FIRMEO, FIRMEC, FOAMEO, and FOAMEC). Outcome measures were processed from the raw acceleration to calculate the average acceleration magnitude from the mean and the root-mean square, with greater values indicating more sway. Eleven healthy controls (HCs) and 11 people with concussion (CON) participated. In all sway measurements, the CON group had significantly (<i>p</i> < 0.05) greater values when standing on a firm surface. In the FOAMEC condition, the CON group had significantly (<i>p</i> < 0.05) greater sway measures only in the AP direction, while significantly greater sway in all directions were found in the CON group in the FOAMEO condition. This study shows that remote balance assessment using a smartphone can discriminate between healthy controls and people with acute concussion. This technology could play an important role in concussion management to assist with determining recovery from concussions and the optimal timing for return to sport. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2bfbdac90312448fa07ae948786997e1 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj-art-2bfbdac90312448fa07ae948786997e12024-11-08T14:41:14ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202024-10-012421687010.3390/s24216870Smartphone Technology to Facilitate Remote Postural Balance Assessment in Acute Concussion Management: Pilot StudyOren Tirosh0Jaymee Klonis1Megan Hamilton2John Olver3Nilmini Wickramasinghe4Dean Mckenzie5Doa El-Ansary6Gavin Williams7School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University, 225-245 Plenty Rd, Bundoora, VIC 3082, AustraliaEpworth Concussion Clinic, Epworth Hospital, Richmond, VIC 3121, AustraliaEpworth Concussion Clinic, Epworth Hospital, Richmond, VIC 3121, AustraliaEpworth Concussion Clinic, Epworth Hospital, Richmond, VIC 3121, AustraliaSchool of Computing, Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC 3086, AustraliaEpworth Concussion Clinic, Epworth Hospital, Richmond, VIC 3121, AustraliaSchool of Health and Biomedical Sciences, The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University, 225-245 Plenty Rd, Bundoora, VIC 3082, AustraliaEpworth Concussion Clinic, Epworth Hospital, Richmond, VIC 3121, AustraliaImpaired balance is a key symptom following acute concussion. Unfortunately, the recommended clinical balance assessment lacks sensitivity and discriminative ability, relying on the experience of the clinician for interpretation. The aim of this pilot study is to explore smartphone technology to remotely assess balance impairment in people with acute concussion. A smartphone app was developed to allow the clinician to connect remotely using their personal web browser to the participant’s smartphone and collect motion data while instructing the participant to perform the following balance tests: standing on firm and foam surface with eyes opened and closed (FIRMEO, FIRMEC, FOAMEO, and FOAMEC). Outcome measures were processed from the raw acceleration to calculate the average acceleration magnitude from the mean and the root-mean square, with greater values indicating more sway. Eleven healthy controls (HCs) and 11 people with concussion (CON) participated. In all sway measurements, the CON group had significantly (<i>p</i> < 0.05) greater values when standing on a firm surface. In the FOAMEC condition, the CON group had significantly (<i>p</i> < 0.05) greater sway measures only in the AP direction, while significantly greater sway in all directions were found in the CON group in the FOAMEO condition. This study shows that remote balance assessment using a smartphone can discriminate between healthy controls and people with acute concussion. This technology could play an important role in concussion management to assist with determining recovery from concussions and the optimal timing for return to sport.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/24/21/6870concussionbalancesmartphoneremote assessmentreturn to sport |
| spellingShingle | Oren Tirosh Jaymee Klonis Megan Hamilton John Olver Nilmini Wickramasinghe Dean Mckenzie Doa El-Ansary Gavin Williams Smartphone Technology to Facilitate Remote Postural Balance Assessment in Acute Concussion Management: Pilot Study Sensors concussion balance smartphone remote assessment return to sport |
| title | Smartphone Technology to Facilitate Remote Postural Balance Assessment in Acute Concussion Management: Pilot Study |
| title_full | Smartphone Technology to Facilitate Remote Postural Balance Assessment in Acute Concussion Management: Pilot Study |
| title_fullStr | Smartphone Technology to Facilitate Remote Postural Balance Assessment in Acute Concussion Management: Pilot Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Smartphone Technology to Facilitate Remote Postural Balance Assessment in Acute Concussion Management: Pilot Study |
| title_short | Smartphone Technology to Facilitate Remote Postural Balance Assessment in Acute Concussion Management: Pilot Study |
| title_sort | smartphone technology to facilitate remote postural balance assessment in acute concussion management pilot study |
| topic | concussion balance smartphone remote assessment return to sport |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/24/21/6870 |
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