The Scolioscoop^® V3: A low-tech self-assessment tool for patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis

Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) requires follow-up during growth to detect progression, resulting in a burden of care. The Scolioscoop^®V3 was developed as an alternative to the Bunnell Scoliometer, to facilitate home monitoring by parents/caregivers.

This study evaluated the accuracy and precision of the Scolioscoop^® V3 compared with the gold standard, both in the outpatient clinic and in the home setting.

A single-center cross-sectional validation study and a multicenter prospective longitudinal study were combined. Scolioscoop^® measurements performed by healthcare professionals and parents/caregivers were compared with Bunnell Scoliometer measurements. Accuracy and precision were assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and Bland-Altman analyses.

92 patients with AIS were included. Measurements performed with the Scolioscoop^® V3 by healthcare professionals demonstrated an excellent correlation with the Bunnell Scoliometer (ICC 0.92, 95% CI 0.88 to 0.95). Measurements with the Scolioscoop^® V3 performed by parents/caregivers showed a moderate correlation in the outpatient clinic ( ICC 0.57, 95% CI 0.40 to 0.70), whereas the correlation was poor for unsupervised measurements at home at 6- and 12-month follow-up (ICC - 0.19, 95% CI -0.52-0.19 and ICC 0.26, 95% CI -0.29-0.68), respectively). The response rates were 50.4% (29 patients) and 24.5% (14 patients) at 6 and 12 months respectively.

The Scolioscoop^® V3 demonstrated excellent agreement with the Bunnell Scoliometer when used by trained healthcare professionals. However, home measurements showed limited reliability, indicating user dependence. Future research should focus on improving usability and supporting effective self-assessment.