Concurrent validity of the step time and walking speed obtained from the smartphone application CareCoaching in independent, community-dwelling older adults.
Kensuke Oshima, Tsuyoshi Asai, Hisumi Esaki and 2 others
PMID 34539063WHAT IT FOUND
A smartphone app accurately measured step time but overestimated walking speed in community-dwelling older adults.
Step time agreement was excellent, while walking speed agreement was only moderate to good, with errors increasing as participants walked faster.
Key findings
01Step time measured by the app showed excellent agreement with the reference system.
02Walking speed measured by the app showed only moderate-to-good agreement with the reference system.
03The app generally overestimated walking speed, and this error became larger as walking speed increased.
STILL TO COME
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What it does not show
The study only included independent, community-dwelling older adults. The results may not apply to older adults who require physical care or social support. The app's accuracy for walking speed decreased as the participants walked faster, limiting its utility for assessing higher-speed ambulation. The study did not test the app's ability to measure left-right motion or mediolateral instability, which was a stated clinical goal.
Declared interests
The study was conducted by employees of Everehab, Inc. and ExaWizards Co., Ltd., the companies that developed and market the CareCoaching app.
The easy way to misread this
Do not use this app's walking speed measurement to make clinical decisions about older adults who walk at their usual, faster pace. The app overestimates speed, and this error increases as the patient walks faster, so it may incorrectly suggest a patient is moving more quickly than they actually are.