Using wearable sensors during the timed up and go and 6-minute walk test in Spinal Bulbar Muscular Atrophy

Spinal Bulbar Muscular Atrophy (SBMA) is a rare and slowly progressive disease that affects males. The Timed Up and Go (TUG) and 6-minute walk test (6MWT) are used in the clinic to track progression. Recent studies have used wearable sensors to track subtle changes in gait and balance in people with rare disease. The objective of this study was to determine whether inertial sensors could be used in men with SBMA to track changes in gait and balance. Our methods included ten participants with SBMA who completed the TUG and 6MWT while wearing six wearable sensors at the baseline, 6-month, and 12-month follow up visits. Our findings showed that this group of men did not progress in their disease over 12 months as evidenced by the stability of TUG durations, 6MWT distance, and sensor parameters. We observed strong associations between the sensor-derived parameters and both TUG duration and 6MWT distance. The sensors can be used during clinic assessments to measure gait and balance parameters. Further studies examining a larger sample size and at-home monitoring should be considered.