Non-obtrusive 3d body tracking for automated mobility assessment in independently living older persons. Results of a pilot trial

• Main Authors: J. Lumetzberger, T. Münzer, M. Kampel
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: European Alliance for Innovation (EAI) 2021-04-01
• Series: EAI Endorsed Transactions on Pervasive Health and Technology
• Subjects: gait speed; depth data; non-obtrusive mobility assessment; aal; physiotherapist; privacy
• Online Access: https://eudl.eu/pdf/10.4108/eai.4-3-2021.168863

INTRODUCTION: With rising age, functional deficit and frequent falls may lead to long-term care admission. Mobility assessment tests can detect fall risk and may induce interventions that prevent a fall.OBJECTIVES: To assess mobility of older persons using real time data and to compare these data with the mobility assessment of physiotherapists.METHODS: 20 older people aged 74±5 (mean ± SD) were monitored over 10 months to investigate the performance of an automated mobility tracker. Physiotherapists performed periodic mobility assessments. Annotated 3d recordings served as ground truth data. RESULTS: High correlation (r=0.684) of annotated and tracked gait speed was found. The mean absolute error is 0.16 m/s.CONCLUSION: 3D mobility trackers can be used to collect long-term mobility data. Since changes in mobility might indicate functional decline, long-term tracking allows to react to changes in mobility. Such a technology may have essential medical and social value.