Abstract
Comprehensive and repetitive assessments are needed to detect physical changes in an older population to prevent functional decline at the earliest possible stage and to initiate preventive interventions. Established instruments like the Timed “Up & Go” (TUG) Test and the Sit-to-Stand Test (SST) require a trained person (e.g., physiotherapist) to assess physical performance. More often, these tests are only applied to a selected group of persons already functionally impaired and not to those who are at potential risk of functional decline. The article introduces the Unsupervised Screening System (USS) for unsupervised self-assessments by older adults and evaluates its validity for the TUG and SST. The USS included ambient and wearable movement sensors to measure the user’s test performance. Sensor datasets of the USS’s light barriers and Inertial Measurement Units (IMU) were analyzed for 91 users aged 73 to 89 years compared to conventional stopwatch measurement. A significant correlation coefficient of 0.89 for the TUG test and of 0.73 for the SST were confirmed among USS’s light barriers. Correspondingly, for the inertial data-based measures, a high and significant correlation of 0.78 for the TUG test and of 0.87 for SST were also found. The USS was a validated and reliable tool to assess TUG and SST.
Highlights
Muscle weakness and inactivity are strong predictors for developing functional disabilities [1,2], which might lead to restrictions in the Activities of Daily Living (ADL) [3]
Its initial evaluation of the validity for measuring the total test-duration of the Timed “Up & Go” (TUG) and Stand Test (SST) assessment, as measured via (1) the Light Barriers (LBs) and (2) an inertial sensor integrated into a sensor belt (IMU), was conducted in a trial with 91 older adults and via reference stopwatch measures
The results indicated both considered sensors and assessments as having high and significant correlations
Summary
Muscle weakness and inactivity are strong predictors for developing functional disabilities [1,2], which might lead to restrictions in the Activities of Daily Living (ADL) [3]. Preserving or even initiating physical activity and exercises in older adults can stop, reduce, or reverse the loss of muscle mass [5] and increase physical capacity. There is an increasing number of interventions designed to promote physical activity in older persons, the adherence to participating in exercise programs regularly is a common challenge [11]. To initiate appropriate interventions to avoid further physical declination, loss of mobility, and mortality, comprehensive measurements are required to detect functional decline at the earliest possible stage [12,13]. This requirement is especially true for the Sensors 2020, 20, 2824; doi:10.3390/s20102824 www.mdpi.com/journal/sensors
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