Chasing Feet in the Wild: A Proposed Egocentric Motion-Aware Gait Assessment Tool

BACKGROUND Cognitive functioning plays a significant role in individuals’ mental health, since fluctuations in memory, attention, and executive functions influence their daily task performance. Existing digital cognitive assessment tools cannot be administered in the wild and their test sets are not brief enough to capture frequent fluctuations throughout the day. The ubiquitous availability of mobile and wearable devices may allow their incorporation into a suitable platform for real-world cognitive assessment. OBJECTIVE The aims of this study were threefold: (1) to evaluate a smartwatch-based tool for the assessment of cognitive performance, (2) to investigate the usability of this tool, and (3) to understand participants’ perceptions regarding the application of a smartwatch in cognitive assessment. METHODS We built the Ubiquitous Cognitive Assessment Tool (UbiCAT) on a smartwatch-based platform. UbiCAT implements three cognitive tests—an Arrow test, a Letter test, and a Color test—adapted from the two-choice reaction-time, N-back, and Stroop tests, respectively. These tests were designed together with domain experts. We evaluated the UbiCAT test measures against standard computer-based tests with 21 healthy adults by applying statistical analyses significant at the 95% level. Usability testing for each UbiCAT app was performed using the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS) questionnaire. The NASA-TLX (Task Load Index) questionnaire was used to measure cognitive workload during the N-back test. Participants rated perceived discomfort of wearing a smartwatch during the tests using a 7-point Likert scale. Upon finishing the experiment, an interview was conducted with each participant. The interviews were transcribed and semantic analysis was performed to group the findings. RESULTS Pearson correlation analysis between the total correct responses obtained from the UbiCAT and the computer-based tests revealed a significant strong correlation (<i>r</i>=.78, <i>P</i><.001). One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed a significant effect of the N-back difficulty level on the participants' performance measures. The study also demonstrated usability ratings above 4 out of 5 in terms of aesthetics, functionality, and information. Low discomfort (<3 out of 7) was reported by our participants after using the UbiCAT. Seven themes were extracted from the transcripts of the interviews conducted with our participants. CONCLUSIONS UbiCAT is a smartwatch-based tool that assesses three key cognitive domains. Usability ratings showed that participants were engaged with the UbiCAT tests and did not feel any discomfort. The majority of the participants were interested in using the UbiCAT, although some preferred computer-based tests, which might be due to the widespread use of personal computers. The UbiCAT can be administered in the wild with mentally ill patients to assess their attention, working memory, and executive function.

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Testing an in-home gait assessment tool for older adults

10.1109/iembs.2009.5333897 ◽

2009 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Fang Wang ◽

E. Stone ◽

Wenqing Dai ◽

T. Banerjee ◽

J. Giger ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Assessment Tool ◽

Gait Assessment

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The Ubiquitous Cognitive Assessment Tool for Smartwatches: Design, Implementation, and Evaluation Study

JMIR mhealth and uhealth ◽

10.2196/17506 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (6) ◽

pp. e17506

Author(s):

Pegah Hafiz ◽

Jakob Eyvind Bardram

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Assessment ◽

Semantic Analysis ◽

Rating Scale ◽

Assessment Tool ◽

Pearson Correlation ◽

Mobile App ◽

Assessment Tools ◽

Difficulty Level ◽

In The Wild ◽

Computer Based

Background Cognitive functioning plays a significant role in individuals’ mental health, since fluctuations in memory, attention, and executive functions influence their daily task performance. Existing digital cognitive assessment tools cannot be administered in the wild and their test sets are not brief enough to capture frequent fluctuations throughout the day. The ubiquitous availability of mobile and wearable devices may allow their incorporation into a suitable platform for real-world cognitive assessment. Objective The aims of this study were threefold: (1) to evaluate a smartwatch-based tool for the assessment of cognitive performance, (2) to investigate the usability of this tool, and (3) to understand participants’ perceptions regarding the application of a smartwatch in cognitive assessment. Methods We built the Ubiquitous Cognitive Assessment Tool (UbiCAT) on a smartwatch-based platform. UbiCAT implements three cognitive tests—an Arrow test, a Letter test, and a Color test—adapted from the two-choice reaction-time, N-back, and Stroop tests, respectively. These tests were designed together with domain experts. We evaluated the UbiCAT test measures against standard computer-based tests with 21 healthy adults by applying statistical analyses significant at the 95% level. Usability testing for each UbiCAT app was performed using the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS) questionnaire. The NASA-TLX (Task Load Index) questionnaire was used to measure cognitive workload during the N-back test. Participants rated perceived discomfort of wearing a smartwatch during the tests using a 7-point Likert scale. Upon finishing the experiment, an interview was conducted with each participant. The interviews were transcribed and semantic analysis was performed to group the findings. Results Pearson correlation analysis between the total correct responses obtained from the UbiCAT and the computer-based tests revealed a significant strong correlation (r=.78, P<.001). One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed a significant effect of the N-back difficulty level on the participants' performance measures. The study also demonstrated usability ratings above 4 out of 5 in terms of aesthetics, functionality, and information. Low discomfort (<3 out of 7) was reported by our participants after using the UbiCAT. Seven themes were extracted from the transcripts of the interviews conducted with our participants. Conclusions UbiCAT is a smartwatch-based tool that assesses three key cognitive domains. Usability ratings showed that participants were engaged with the UbiCAT tests and did not feel any discomfort. The majority of the participants were interested in using the UbiCAT, although some preferred computer-based tests, which might be due to the widespread use of personal computers. The UbiCAT can be administered in the wild with mentally ill patients to assess their attention, working memory, and executive function.

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Reliability and Validity of the Shaw Gait Assessment Tool for Temporospatial Gait Assessment in People With Hemiparesis

Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation ◽

10.1016/j.apmr.2011.02.014 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 92 (7) ◽

pp. 1060-1065 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Sheila Reid ◽

Jean M. Held ◽

Suzanne Lawrence

Keyword(s):

Assessment Tool ◽

Reliability And Validity ◽

Gait Assessment

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Development and validation of a low-cost, portable and wireless gait assessment tool

Medical Engineering & Physics ◽

10.1016/j.medengphy.2013.11.011 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 36 (4) ◽

pp. 541-546 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Catherine A. Macleod ◽

Bernard A. Conway ◽

David B. Allan ◽

Sujay S. Galen

Keyword(s):

Assessment Tool ◽

Low Cost ◽

Gait Assessment ◽

Development And Validation

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Computational gait analysis using fuzzy logic for everyday clinical purposes – preliminary findings

Bio-Algorithms and Med-Systems ◽

10.1515/bams-2016-0023 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Emilia Mikołajewska ◽

Piotr Prokopowicz ◽

Dariusz Mikolajewski

Keyword(s):

Assessment Tool ◽

Reference Group ◽

Study Group ◽

Specific Therapy ◽

Gait Assessment ◽

Gait Parameters ◽

Before And After ◽

Group Members ◽

Spatio Temporal ◽

High Consistency

AbstractBackground:Proper, early, and exact identification of gait impairments and their causes is regarded as a prerequisite for specific therapy and a useful control tool to assess efficacy of rehabilitation. There is a need for simple tools allowing for quickly detecting general tendencies.Objective:The aim of this paper is to present the outcomes of traditional and fuzzy-based analysis of the outcomes of post-stroke gait reeducation using the NeuroDevelopmental Treatment-Bobath (NDT-Bobath) method.Materials and methods:The research was conducted among 40 adult people: 20 of them after ischemic stroke constituted the study group, and 20 healthy people constituted the reference group. Study group members were treated through 2 weeks (10 therapeutic sessions) using the NDT-Bobath method. Spatio-temporal gait parameters were assessed before and after therapy and compared using novel fuzzy-based assessment tool.Results:Achieved results of rehabilitation, observed as changes of gait parameters, were statistically relevant and reflected recovery. One-number outcomes from the proposed fuzzy-based estimator proved moderate to high consistency with the results of the traditional gait assessment.Conclusions:Observed statistically significant and favorable changes in the health status of patients, described by gait parameters, were reflected also in outcomes of fuzzy-based analysis. Proposed fuzzy-based measure increases possibility of the clinical gait assessment toward more objective clinical reasoning based on common use of the mHealth solutions.

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