Concept verification of a Remote Automatic Scoring System for Evaluating Knee Function after Total Knee Arthroplasty

Area of Science:

• Orthopedics
• Biomedical Engineering
• Rehabilitation Technology

Background:

• The Knee Society Score (KSS) is standard for evaluating post-total knee arthroplasty (TKA) outcomes.
• Current KSS assessment requires inconvenient clinic visits for patients.
• There is a need for remote, accessible methods to monitor TKA recovery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and verify a concept for a remote, automatic system to evaluate knee function after TKA using the KSS.
• To assess the reliability and convenience of this remote system compared to traditional clinical evaluation.

Main Methods:

• A remote scoring system was designed with data acquisition modules, a patient app, a cloud server, and a doctor app.
• Motion sensors (accelerometer, gyroscope, geomagnetic) collected nine-axis kinematic data.
• 3D knee angles were calculated, and KSS scores were computed via an algorithm in the patient app.
• 10 TKA patients were evaluated by both clinicians and the remote system.

Main Results:

• The remote system successfully collected knee function data and transmitted KSS scores.
• No significant difference was found between KSS scores from the remote system and clinician evaluation (p=0.326).
• The system demonstrated reliability and convenience for at-home monitoring.

Conclusions:

• A novel remote automatic scoring system offers a reliable and convenient method for evaluating knee function after TKA.
• This technology can facilitate remote patient monitoring and reduce healthcare accessibility barriers.
• The system shows promise for improving post-TKA patient care and follow-up.