"Bring Your Own Device"-A New Approach to Wearable Outcome Assessment in Trauma

Area of Science:

• Digital Health
• Wearable Technology in Medicine
• Musculoskeletal Injury Research

Background:

• Wearable device data is increasingly vital for research and clinical outcomes.
• Traditional methods use dedicated devices, limiting baseline and achievable outcome data.
• A novel Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) strategy is proposed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the feasibility of using patients' own wearable devices for outcome measurement.
• To establish a pre-injury baseline and assess achievable recovery results.
• To analyze activity data patterns in patients with musculoskeletal injuries.

Main Methods:

• An exploratory, proof-of-concept study involving patients with upper and lower extremity musculoskeletal injuries.
• Continuous acquisition of wearable outcome data (smartphone/body sensor) for at least 6 weeks post-injury.
• Descriptive analysis of screening characteristics and observed/achievable outcome patterns.

Main Results:

• 432 patients were screened; 48 were included in the analysis, with higher inclusion rates in younger patients.
• Step count was the most common outcome measure.
• Three distinct activity patterns emerged: recovery, slow/no recovery, and needing further assessment.

Conclusions:

• The Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) strategy is feasible for measuring outcomes in trauma patients.
• This method provides continuous activity data without requiring dedicated equipment.
• The BYOD approach is particularly suitable for specific patient cohorts and can inform future study designs.