Detection of body postures and movements in ambulatory adults with cerebral palsy: a novel and valid measure of physical behaviour.
Everett A Claridge, Rita J G van den Berg-Emons, Herwin L D Horemans and 6 others
PMID 31665030WHAT IT FOUND
Taped to the outer thigh, the Activ8 monitor matched video within 10% for sitting, standing, walking and bicycling in adults with cerebral palsy.
It overestimated running, and pocket or frontal thigh placement was less reliable.
Key findings
01In fourteen ambulatory adults with spastic cerebral palsy, the frontolateral thigh Activ8 matched video within 10% for sitting, standing, walking and bicycling, but not running.
02Frontolateral thigh attachment agreed better with video than frontal thigh or pant pocket attachment for sitting, standing, walking and combined upright activity.
03The Activ8 overestimated running because movements above an acceleration threshold were labelled running, and this occurred in two participants.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study included only fourteen ambulatory adults with cerebral palsy, so it cannot show how the monitor performs in most patients. Some participants had missing monitor data because equipment was unavailable or trousers lacked pockets. Activities were performed in a laboratory-like setting in short timed bouts, not over a normal day at home. Video scoring relied on a single rater, so the reference measure may contain unmeasured coding error. The monitor's running class captured vigorous movement rather than true running, so it should not be used to measure high-intensity activity. Results apply only to ambulatory adults with spastic cerebral palsy, not to non-ambulatory adults or other movement disorders.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume the Activ8 can accurately measure running in adults with cerebral palsy. It overestimated running because movements above an acceleration threshold were labelled running, and the time difference from video was 34.6% at the outer thigh placement.