Current clinical utilisation of wearable motion sensors for the assessment of outcome following knee arthroplasty: a scoping review

Abstract

Objectives

Wearable motion sensors are used with increasing frequency in the evaluation of gait, function and physical activity within orthopaedics and sports medicine. The integration of wearable technology into the clinical pathway offers the ability to improve post-operative patient assessment beyond the scope of current, questionnaire-based patient-reported outcome measures. This scoping review assesses the current methodology and clinical application of accelerometers and inertial measurement units for the evaluation of patient activity and functional recovery following knee arthroplasty.

Design

This is a systematically conducted scoping review following Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for scoping reviews and reported consulting the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses extension for scoping reviews. A protocol for this review is registered with the Open Science Framework ( https://osf.io/rzg9q).

Data sources

CINAHL, EMBASE, MEDLINE and Web of Science databases were searched for manuscripts published between 2008 and 2019.

Eligibility criteria

We included clinical studies reporting the use of any combination of accelerometers, pedometers or inertial measurement units for patient assessment at any time point following knee arthroplasty.

Data extraction and synthesis

Data extracted from manuscripts included patient demographics, sensor technology, testing protocol and sensor-based outcome variables.

Results

45 studies were identified, including 2076 knee arthroplasty patients, 620 patients with end-stage osteoarthritis and 449 healthy controls. Primary aims of the identified studies included functional assessment, physical activity monitoring and evaluation of knee instability. Methodology varied widely between studies, with inconsistency in reported sensor configuration, testing protocol and output variables.

Conclusions

The use of wearable sensors in evaluation of knee arthroplasty procedures is becoming increasingly common and offers the potential to improve clinical understanding of recovery and rehabilitation. While current studies lack consistency, significant opportunity exists for the development of standardised measures and protocols for function and physical activity evaluation.