Smart Wearable Technologies for Balance Rehabilitation in Older Adults at Risk of Falls: Scoping Review and Comparative Analysis.
Brooke Nairn, Vassilios Tsakanikas, Becky Gordon and 4 others
PMID 40435383WHAT IT FOUND
This review maps smart balance rehab tools for older adults at risk of falls but reports no patient outcomes.
Most systems use VR and motion tracking. Few offer AI personalization or remote monitoring. The authors compare these gaps to their own new platform, TeleRehab DSS.
Key findings
01The review identified 17 smart balance systems, comprising 10 investigational and 7 commercially available solutions, but reported no clinical outcomes or efficacy data.
02Among investigational systems, VR and motion tracking were common, but AI-driven personalization and remote delivery were rare, appearing in only 1 and 2 studies respectively.
03The TeleRehab DSS is positioned as unique for combining AI, AR, and real-time monitoring, but the authors admit this evaluation is based on theoretical potential rather than long-term empirical data.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study reports no patient outcomes, so it cannot tell you which technology works best for reducing falls. The comparison heavily favors TeleRehab DSS, a system the authors are involved with, based on feature presence rather than clinical performance. The review was limited to English-language publications and systems where features were explicitly documented, potentially missing relevant tools or capabilities. TeleRehab DSS is in early implementation stages, and its evaluation is based on theoretical potential rather than long-term empirical data.
Declared interests
One author (BN) is involved in the development of the TeleRehab DSS, the system being promoted in the comparison. The paper does not state who funded the work or if the authors have financial ties to the commercial systems reviewed.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the comparison as evidence that TeleRehab DSS is clinically superior to other systems. The review maps features, not outcomes. The authors state that TeleRehab DSS is evaluated on theoretical potential, not long-term empirical data, and no patient results are reported to prove it reduces falls better than existing tools.