Short physical performance battery: Pilot study of a human motion capture app (MobiSPPB)

Area of Science:

• Gerontology and Rehabilitation Engineering
• Biomedical Signal Processing and Analysis
• Digital Health and Mobile Applications

Background:

• The Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) is a standard tool for assessing mobility and fall risk, evaluating balance, gait speed, and lower limb strength.
• Traditional SPPB assessments are time-consuming and require trained personnel, limiting their widespread clinical application.
• The MobiSPPB app, a novel video-based smartphone application, aims to provide a rater-independent SPPB assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the technical validity and reliability of the MobiSPPB app compared to the standard rater-based SPPB.
• To assess the MobiSPPB app's capability in detecting disease-related movement patterns.
• To determine if the app offers more objective assessments than human raters.

Main Methods:

• Healthy participants performed SPPB with and without simulated impairments.
• Two experienced raters assessed SPPB performance while a smartphone recorded the sessions.
• The MobiSPPB app utilized vision-based human motion capture techniques for video analysis.
• Statistical analyses included Spearman's correlations, intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves.

Main Results:

• The MobiSPPB app demonstrated a strong correlation with the standard SPPB (Spearman's Correlation = 0.869).
• The app showed excellent test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.936), surpassing inter-rater reliability.
• High accuracy was achieved in detecting severe impairments like hemiplegia (AUC = 93%).

Conclusions:

• The MobiSPPB app is technically validated in a controlled setting for SPPB assessment.
• The app offers a reliable and objective method for mobility assessment, potentially improving fall risk evaluations.
• Further clinical validation is recommended to integrate MobiSPPB into routine practice.