Abstract
Neck injuries and the related pain have a high prevalence and represent an important health problem. To properly diagnose and treat them, practitioners need an accurate system for measuring Cervical Range Of Motion (CROM). This article describes the development and validation of an inexpensive, small (4 cm × 4 cm × 8 cm), light (< 200 g) and easy to use solution for measuring CROM using wearable inertial sensors. The proposed solution has been designed with the clinical practice in mind, after consulting with practitioners. It is composed of: (a) two wearable wireless MEMS-based inertial devices, (b) a recording and report generation software application and (c) a measurement protocol for assessing CROM. The solution provides accurate (none of our results is outside the ROM ranges when compared with previously published results based on an optical tracking device) and reliable measurements (ICC = 0.93 for interrater reliability when compared with an optical tracking device and ICC > 0.90 for test-retest reliability), surpassing the popular CROM instrument’s capabilities and precision. It also fulfills the needs for clinical practice attending to effectiveness, efficiency (4 min from setup to final report) and user’s satisfaction (as reported by practitioners). The solution has been certified for mass-production and use in medical environments.
Highlights
IntroductionThe Problem of Spinal Disorders and Neck Pain
A recent study reported a global point prevalence of 4.9% [1], and neck pain has been considered one of the main causes of disability by the Global Burden of Disease Study [2]
This article is structured as follows: in the Materials and Methods we describe how we developed the solution, which includes a set of hardware devices, a software application and a measurement protocol
Summary
The Problem of Spinal Disorders and Neck Pain. Neck pain in particular, have a high prevalence and a huge impact on the daily life of people that suffer from it. A recent study reported a global point prevalence (people who suffer the condition in a year) of 4.9% [1], and neck pain has been considered one of the main causes of disability by the Global Burden of Disease Study [2]. 10.4% and 21.3%, with special incidence in computer workers [3]. The number rises to 30% [4]. This pathology has a higher incidence in women and the prevalence increases with age
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