Body position classification using wearable sensors in infants with cerebral palsy

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Developmental Pediatrics
• Machine Learning in Healthcare

Background:

• Infants with cerebral palsy (CP) face motor impairments that can affect learning opportunities.
• Measuring real-world motor behavior in infants with CP is crucial for understanding developmental challenges.
• Existing machine learning models for body position classification in typical development (TD) infants need validation for CP populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the validity of using machine learning and wearable sensors for classifying body position in infants with CP.
• To determine the most accurate machine learning model configuration for body position classification in infants with CP.
• To explore the potential of sensor data for quantifying motor behavior and learning opportunities in infants with CP.

Main Methods:

• Ten infants with CP and 19 infants with typical development (TD) wore four inertial sensors on their legs.
• Video recordings of 90 minutes per session were manually scored for five body positions: supine, prone, sitting, standing, and held.
• Random forest classifiers were trained using sensor-derived motion features, with varying dataset sizes and group compositions (CP, TD, CP and TD).

Main Results:

• Machine learning models trained on larger datasets including CP infant data showed highest accuracy.
• Final models achieved comparable performance for CP (86% accuracy) and TD infants (89% accuracy).
• Classifications demonstrated individual differences (ICCs = 0.682–0.999) and correlated with motor skill assessments.

Conclusions:

• Wearable sensors and machine learning provide a valid method for accurately classifying real-world body position in infants with CP.
• This technology can quantify motor behavior and learning opportunities, aiding in the assessment and support of infants with CP.
• The findings support the use of these tools to better understand and address the motor challenges faced by infants with CP.