The usefulness of activity trackers in elderly with reduced mobility: a case study.
This study was conducted to determine the accuracy and usefulness of two current commercially available activity trackers in rollator dependent elderly with reduced mobility (RME), compared with elderly with normal mobility (NME) and healthy adults (HA).


METHODS
Accuracy of pedometers placed at hip (Fitbit Ultra and Samsung GT-I9300 mobile phone) and wrist (Fitbit Ultra) were evaluated against actual steps (video) in RME (n=5), NME (n=7) and HA (n=6). Walk speed, Tinetti gait score and device percent error was calculated and analyzed in SPSS using Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney U and correlation tests.


RESULTS
NME and HA walked significantly faster (p = 0.001) than RME, had significantly higher gait score (p &lt; 0.05). Gait scores were correlated with walking speed and negatively with pedometer percent error (p &lt; 0.01). Estimation error in RME were &gt;60% at all device locations


CONCLUSIONS
Slow walking speed and gait disorders hamper the utility of pedometers for physical activity measurement in rollator dependent elderly, with estimation errors &gt;60%. The tested devices are better suited for use by ostensibly healthy elderly or adult populations.
Department of Computer Architecture and Technology, University of Seville, Seville, Spain.
Jonas
J
Lauritzen
Adolfo
A
Muñoz
Jose
J
Luis Sevillano
Anton
A
Civit
D056044:Actigraphy / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D005260:Female; D020233:Gait Disorders, Neurologic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051346:Mobility Limitation; D018670:Monitoring, Ambulatory / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D014600:Utilization Review; D016138:Walking