Heightened clinical utility of smartphone versus body-worn inertial system for shoulder function B-B score.
BACKGROUND
The B-B Score is a straightforward kinematic shoulder function score including only two movements (hand to the Back + lift hand as to change a Bulb) that demonstrated sound measurement properties for patients for various shoulder pathologies. However, the B-B Score results using a smartphone or a reference system have not yet been compared. Provided that the measurement properties are comparable, the use of a smartphone would offer substantial practical advantages. This study investigated the concurrent validity of a smartphone and a reference inertial system for the measurement of the kinematic shoulder function B-B Score.


METHODS
Sixty-five patients with shoulder conditions (with rotator cuff conditions, adhesive capsulitis and proximal humerus fracture) and 20 healthy participants were evaluated using a smartphone and a reference inertial system. Measurements were performed twice, alternating between two evaluators. The B-B Score differences between groups, differences between devices, relationship between devices, intra- and inter-evaluator reproducibility were analysed.


RESULTS
The smartphone mean scores (SD) were 94.1 (11.1) for controls and 54.1 (18.3) for patients (P < 0.01). The difference between devices was non-significant for the control (P = 0.16) and the patient group (P = 0.81). The analysis of the relationship between devices showed 0.97 ICC, -0.6 bias and -13.2 to 12.0 limits of agreement (LOA). The smartphone intra-evaluator ICC was 0.92, the bias 1.5 and the LOA -17.4 to 20.3. The smartphone inter-evaluator ICC was 0.92, the bias 1.5 and the LOA -16.9 to 20.0.


CONCLUSIONS
The B-B Score results measured with a smartphone were comparable to those of an inertial system. While single measurements diverged in some cases, the intra- and inter-evaluator reproducibility was excellent and was equivalent between devices. The B-B score measured with a smartphone is straightforward and as efficient as a reference inertial system measurement.
Physiotherapy Department, Haute Ecole de Santé Vaud (HESAV)//HES-SO, University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland, Lausanne, Switzerland.|Service of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Department of Musculoskeletal Medicine, University Hospital of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland., CHUV-UNIL, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Claude
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9381-8503
C
Pichonnaz
Laboratory of Movement Analysis and Measurement, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Kamiar
K
Aminian
Physiotherapy Department, Haute Ecole de Santé Vaud (HESAV)//HES-SO, University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Céline
C
Ancey
Physiotherapy Department, Haute Ecole de Santé Vaud (HESAV)//HES-SO, University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland, Lausanne, Switzerland.|Service of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Department of Musculoskeletal Medicine, University Hospital of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland., CHUV-UNIL, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Hervé
H
Jaccard
Direction médicale, CHUV-UNIL, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Estelle
E
Lécureux
Laboratory of Movement Analysis and Measurement, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Cyntia
C
Duc
Service of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Department of Musculoskeletal Medicine, University Hospital of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland., CHUV-UNIL, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Alain
A
Farron
Service of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Department of Musculoskeletal Medicine, University Hospital of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland., CHUV-UNIL, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Brigitte M
BM
Jolles
School of Health Sciences, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Nigel
N
Gleeson
D061725:Accelerometry / Q000295:instrumentation; D000328:Adult; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006811:Humerus / Q000293:injuries; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D007592:Joint Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology; D015588:Observer Variation; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012782:Shoulder / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000070599:Shoulder Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D000068997:Smartphone; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires