JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

The shoulder is one of the joints with greater mobility of the human body and its evaluation is complex. The assessment can be done by questionnaires or based on functional tests. The goniometry can complement the information obtained in the assessment. However, there are currently devices that provide more information on the realization of movement such as inertial sensors, which are validated. The cost of these devices is usually high and is not available to all clinicians. There are also inertial sensors that are implemented in mobile phones that are cheaper and currently we all have one. The results of the inertial sensors integrated in the mobile devices can have the same reliability as the dedicated sensors.

Objective:

Validate the use of the nexus 4 mobile device as a measuring tool in the mobility of the humerus during shoulder movement in front of a dedicated sensor InertialCube 3.

Methods:

27 patients affected by shoulder pathologies and 16 asymptomatic subjects participated in the study. Shoulder flexion, shoulder extension and scaption were measured by InertialCube 3 and Nexus 4 mobile phone. Both device were attached to the participants in order to record the results simultaneously. Interclass correlation coefficient was performed based on the three movements performed.

Results:

The mobile device recorded the acceleration values in a suitable way simultaneously with the inertial sensor. The coefficients of interclass correlation of the 3 gestures and for each of the axes of movement were analyzed. The abduction and flexo-extension movement axes proved to be the most reliable based on the results obtained for the three movements performed.

Conclusions:

The Nexus 4 mobile phone is a reliable and valid tool for recording the accelerations produced in the shoulder compared to the InertialCube 3.