Usefulness of Magnetoinertial Wearable Devices in Neurorehabilitation of Children with Cerebral Palsy

Background. Despite the increasing use of wearable magnetoinertial measurement units (MIMUs) for gait analysis, the efficacy of MIMU-based assessment for planning rehabilitation has not been adequately documented yet. Methods. The usefulness of a MIMU-based assessment was evaluated comparing the dat...

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Main Authors: Marco Iosa, Manuela de Sanctis, Aurora Summa, Elena Bergamini, Daniela Morelli, Giuseppe Vannozzi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2018-01-01
Series:Applied Bionics and Biomechanics
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2018/5405680
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author Marco Iosa
Manuela de Sanctis
Aurora Summa
Elena Bergamini
Daniela Morelli
Giuseppe Vannozzi
author_facet Marco Iosa
Manuela de Sanctis
Aurora Summa
Elena Bergamini
Daniela Morelli
Giuseppe Vannozzi
author_sort Marco Iosa
collection DOAJ
description Background. Despite the increasing use of wearable magnetoinertial measurement units (MIMUs) for gait analysis, the efficacy of MIMU-based assessment for planning rehabilitation has not been adequately documented yet. Methods. The usefulness of a MIMU-based assessment was evaluated comparing the data acquired by three MIMUs located at the pelvis, sternum, and head levels in 12 children with cerebral palsy (CP, age: 2–9 years) and 12 age-matched children with typical development (TD). Gait stability was quantified in terms of acceleration attenuation coefficients from pelvis to head, pelvis to sternum, and sternum to head. Children with CP were randomly divided in two groups: in the first group (CPI), MIMU-based parameters were used by therapists for planning patient-tailored rehabilitation programs, whereas in the second group (CPB), therapists were blind to the MIMU-based assessment results. Both CPI and CPB were tested before and after the relevant neurorehabilitation program. Ad hoc questionnaires were also administered to therapists of the CPI group to assess the degree of usefulness perceived about the information provided by the MIMU-based assessment. Results. Significant differences were found between children with CP and those with TD for the acceleration attenuation coefficient from pelvis to head (p=0.048) and from pelvis to sternum (p=0.021). After neurorehabilitation, this last parameter increased more in CPI (35%) than in CPB (6%, p=0.017 for the interaction group per time). The results of the questionnaires showed that therapists agreed with the usability (100% judged it as “easy to use”) and usefulness of the MIMU-based assessment in defining patient-oriented interventions (87%). Conclusions. There is a large debate in literature about the efficacy of classical gait analysis that should be enlarged to new technological approaches, such as that based on MIMUs. This study is a first proof of concept about the efficacy of this approach for neurorehabilitation of children with CP.
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spelling doaj-art-2a9c6f22382d47e788049c0a0043fa512025-02-03T06:45:57ZengWileyApplied Bionics and Biomechanics1176-23221754-21032018-01-01201810.1155/2018/54056805405680Usefulness of Magnetoinertial Wearable Devices in Neurorehabilitation of Children with Cerebral PalsyMarco Iosa0Manuela de Sanctis1Aurora Summa2Elena Bergamini3Daniela Morelli4Giuseppe Vannozzi5Clinical Laboratory of Experimental Neurorehabilitation, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179 Rome, ItalyClinical Laboratory of Experimental Neurorehabilitation, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179 Rome, ItalyInteruniversity Centre of Bioengineering of the Human Neuromusculoskeletal System, Department of Movement, Human, and Health Sciences, University of Rome “Foro Italico”, Piazza Lauro De Bosis 15, 00135 Rome, ItalyInteruniversity Centre of Bioengineering of the Human Neuromusculoskeletal System, Department of Movement, Human, and Health Sciences, University of Rome “Foro Italico”, Piazza Lauro De Bosis 15, 00135 Rome, ItalyClinical Laboratory of Experimental Neurorehabilitation, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179 Rome, ItalyInteruniversity Centre of Bioengineering of the Human Neuromusculoskeletal System, Department of Movement, Human, and Health Sciences, University of Rome “Foro Italico”, Piazza Lauro De Bosis 15, 00135 Rome, ItalyBackground. Despite the increasing use of wearable magnetoinertial measurement units (MIMUs) for gait analysis, the efficacy of MIMU-based assessment for planning rehabilitation has not been adequately documented yet. Methods. The usefulness of a MIMU-based assessment was evaluated comparing the data acquired by three MIMUs located at the pelvis, sternum, and head levels in 12 children with cerebral palsy (CP, age: 2–9 years) and 12 age-matched children with typical development (TD). Gait stability was quantified in terms of acceleration attenuation coefficients from pelvis to head, pelvis to sternum, and sternum to head. Children with CP were randomly divided in two groups: in the first group (CPI), MIMU-based parameters were used by therapists for planning patient-tailored rehabilitation programs, whereas in the second group (CPB), therapists were blind to the MIMU-based assessment results. Both CPI and CPB were tested before and after the relevant neurorehabilitation program. Ad hoc questionnaires were also administered to therapists of the CPI group to assess the degree of usefulness perceived about the information provided by the MIMU-based assessment. Results. Significant differences were found between children with CP and those with TD for the acceleration attenuation coefficient from pelvis to head (p=0.048) and from pelvis to sternum (p=0.021). After neurorehabilitation, this last parameter increased more in CPI (35%) than in CPB (6%, p=0.017 for the interaction group per time). The results of the questionnaires showed that therapists agreed with the usability (100% judged it as “easy to use”) and usefulness of the MIMU-based assessment in defining patient-oriented interventions (87%). Conclusions. There is a large debate in literature about the efficacy of classical gait analysis that should be enlarged to new technological approaches, such as that based on MIMUs. This study is a first proof of concept about the efficacy of this approach for neurorehabilitation of children with CP.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2018/5405680
spellingShingle Marco Iosa
Manuela de Sanctis
Aurora Summa
Elena Bergamini
Daniela Morelli
Giuseppe Vannozzi
Usefulness of Magnetoinertial Wearable Devices in Neurorehabilitation of Children with Cerebral Palsy
Applied Bionics and Biomechanics
title Usefulness of Magnetoinertial Wearable Devices in Neurorehabilitation of Children with Cerebral Palsy
title_full Usefulness of Magnetoinertial Wearable Devices in Neurorehabilitation of Children with Cerebral Palsy
title_fullStr Usefulness of Magnetoinertial Wearable Devices in Neurorehabilitation of Children with Cerebral Palsy
title_full_unstemmed Usefulness of Magnetoinertial Wearable Devices in Neurorehabilitation of Children with Cerebral Palsy
title_short Usefulness of Magnetoinertial Wearable Devices in Neurorehabilitation of Children with Cerebral Palsy
title_sort usefulness of magnetoinertial wearable devices in neurorehabilitation of children with cerebral palsy
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2018/5405680
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