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The reliability and validity of a non-wearable...
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The reliability and validity of a non-wearable indoor positioning system to assess mobility in older adults: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background Chirp is a privacy-preserving radar sensor developed to continuously monitor older adults’ safety and mobility without the need for cameras or wearable devices. Our study purpose was to evaluate the inter-sensor reliability, intrasession test-retest reliability, and concurrent validity of Chirp in a clinical setting. Methods We recruited 35 community-dwelling older adults (mean age 75.5 (standard deviation: 6.6) years, 86% female). All participants lived alone in an urban city in southwestern Ontario and had access to a smart device with wireless internet. Data were collected with a 4-meter ProtoKinetics Zeno™ Walkway (pressure sensors) with the Chirp sensor (radar positioning) at the end of the walkway. Participants walked during normal and adaptive locomotion experimental conditions (walking-while-talking, obstacle, narrow walking, fast walking). Each of the experimental conditions was conducted twice in a randomized order, with fast walking trials performed last. For intra-session reliability testing, we conducted two blocks of walks within a participant session separated by approximately 30 minutes. Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (A,1) (ICC (A,1) ) was used to assess the reliability and validity. Linear regression, adjusted for gender, was used to investigate the association between Chirp and cognition and health-related quality of life scores. Results The Chirp inter-sensor reliability ICC (A,1) =0.999[95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 0.997 to 0.999] and intrasession test-retest reliability [ICC (A,1) =0.921, 95% CI: 0.725 to 0.969] were excellent across all experimental conditions. Chirp concurrent validity compared to the ProtoKinetics Zeno™ Walkway was excellent across experimental conditions [ICC (A,1) = 0.993, 95% CI: 0.985 to 0.997]. We found a weak association between Chirp and cognition scores using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment across experimental conditions (estimated β-value= 7.79, 95% CI: 2.79 to 12.80) and no association between the Chirp and health-related quality of life using the 12-item Short Form Survey across experimental conditions (estimated β-value=6.12, 95% CI: -7.12 to 19.36). Conclusion Our results demonstrate that Chirp is a reliable and valid measure to assess gait parameters in clinics among older adults.

Authors

Rodrigues IB; Hewston P; Adachi J; Borhan S; Ioannidis G; Kouroukis A; Leckie C; Lee A; Rabinovich A; Siva P

Publication date

July 7, 2024

DOI

10.1101/2024.07.04.24309984

Preprint server

medRxiv
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