Wearable Sensor-Based Exercise Biofeedback for Orthopaedic Rehabilitation: A Mixed Methods User Evaluation of a Prototype System

• Published in: Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 19; no. 2; p. 432
• Main Authors: Argent, Rob, Slevin, Patrick, Bevilacqua, Antonio, Neligan, Maurice, Daly, Ailish, Caulfield, Brian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 21-01-2019; MDPI
• Subjects: Applications programs; Arthritis; Biofeedback; Biofeedback, Psychology - physiology; Biomechanics; biomedical technology; Exercise; Exercise - physiology; exercise therapy; Female; human factors; Humans; inertial measurement unit; Joint replacement surgery; Knee; Male; Methods; Middle Aged; Mixed methods research; Mobile Applications; mobile health; Orthopedics; Pain; Patient satisfaction; qualitative; Rehabilitation; Sensors; Systematic review; University colleges; Usability; Wearable Electronic Devices; Wearable technology; wearables; United Kingdom > UK; Ireland; biofeedback; inertial measurement unit; exercise therapy; mobile health; qualitative; human factors; biomedical technology; orthopedics; wearables
• ISSN: 1424-8220; 1424-8220
• DOI: 10.3390/s19020432

The majority of wearable sensor-based biofeedback systems used in exercise rehabilitation lack end-user evaluation as part of the development process. This study sought to evaluate an exemplar sensor-based biofeedback system, investigating the feasibility, usability, perceived impact and user experience of using the platform. Fifteen patients participated in the study having recently undergone knee replacement surgery. Participants were provided with the system for two weeks at home, completing a semi-structured interview alongside the System Usability Scale (SUS) and user version of the Mobile Application Rating Scale (uMARS). The analysis from the SUS (mean = 90.8 [SD = 7.8]) suggests a high degree of usability, supported by qualitative findings. The mean adherence rate was 79% with participants reporting a largely positive user experience, suggesting it offers additional support with the rehabilitation regime. Overall quality from the mean uMARS score was 4.1 out of 5 (SD = 0.39), however a number of bugs and inaccuracies were highlighted along with suggestions for additional features to enhance engagement. This study has shown that patients perceive value in the use of wearable sensor-based biofeedback systems and has highlighted the benefit of user-evaluation during the design process, illustrated the need for real-world accuracy validation, and supports the ongoing development of such systems.