Evaluation of Activity Monitors in Manual Wheelchair Users With Paraplegia
By Hiremath, Shivayogi V.; Ding, Dan; Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine, Volume 34, Number 1, pages 110-117Publication Date: 2011
Study evaluated the performance of the SenseWear multisensor armband worn on the upper limb and the RT3 triaxial accelerometer worn around the waist in estimating the energy expenditure (EE) in manual wheelchair users (MWUs) with paraplegia for resting and physical activities including wheelchair propulsion, arm-ergometer exercise, and deskwork. Participants were 24 MWUs with paraplegia with a mean age of 41 years, 19 of whom were male. The criterion EE was measured by a K4b2 portable metabolic cart comprising an analyzer unit and a rubber face mask covering participants’ mouth and nose. The EE estimated by the SenseWear and RT3 were compared with the criterion EE by the absolute differences and absolute percentage errors. Intraclass correlations and the Bland Altman plots were also used to assess the agreements between the two activity monitors and the metabolic cart. Correlations between the criterion EE and the estimated EE and sensor data from the monitors were evaluated. The EE estimation errors for the activity monitors varied from 24.4 to 125.8 percent for the SenseWear and from 22.0 to 52.8 percent for the RT3. The intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) between the criterion EE and the EE estimated by the two monitors for each activity and all activities as a whole were considered poor, with all the ICCs smaller than 0.75. Except for deskwork, the EE from the SW was more correlate3d to the criterion EE than the EE from the RT3. Results indicated that neither of the activity monitors is an appropriate tool for quantifying physical activity in MWUs with paraplegia.
Assistive Products Discussed: RT3 RESEARCH ACTIVITY MONITOR
Published by: American Paraplegia Society (Website:http://www.apssci.org)
Link to text: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3066485/?tool=pubmed
