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Is a smartphone application as accurate as a traditional goniometer for assessing finger joint angles in Dupuytren's
Henry O'Brien1, Jay Paniker1, Liam Brown2
1Rotherham Hospital, Moorgate Road, Rotherham, S60 2UD, United Kingdom.
Objectives:
Smartphone applications are available using the smartphone accelerometer to measure angles. This study compared finger joint angle measurements using a traditional goniometer (TG) versus a smartphone application (SPA) in a group of patients with Dupuytren's disease, to determine if they were equally accurate. This was a clinical measurement case series. A group of patients with Dupuytren's disease were invited to participate.
Material And Methods:
The Apple iPhone 7 "Measure" application was used. Participants were asked to place their hand as flat as possible on the table in a clinic room. Each joint of the ring and little fingers was measured using the TG and the SPA. Power calculation by paired t-test determined a sample size of 25.
Results:
28 hands were measured. The Pearson correlation coefficients for the various finger joints were: metacarpophalangeal joint (MCPJ), 0.989; proximal interphalangeal joint (PIPJ), 0.997; and distal interphalangeal joint (DIPJ), 0.977. The root mean square errors (RMSE) for the various joints were: MCPJ, 3.190; PIPJ, 2.019; and DIPJ, 1.897. Bland-Altman analysis showed the two methods to be in agreement.
Conclusion:
The SPA was consistent, reliable and in agreement with a TG for assessing ring and little finger joint angles. The SPA could be used by healthcare professionals instead of a TG.
