Measuring Foot Abduction Brace Wear Time Using a Single 3-Axis Accelerometer

Benjamin Griffiths, Natan Silver, Malcolm H. Granat*, Ehud Lebel

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

The recommended treatment for idiopathic congenital clubfoot deformity involves a series of weekly castings, surgery, and a period of bracing using a foot abduction brace (FAB). Depending on the age of the child, the orthotic should be worn for periods that reduce in duration as the child develops. Compliance is vital to achieve optimal functional outcomes and reduce the likelihood of reoccurrence, deformity, or the need for future surgery. However, compliance is typically monitored by self-reporting, which is time-consuming to implement and lacks accuracy. This study presents a novel method for objectively monitoring FAB wear using a single 3-axis accelerometer. Eleven families mounted an accelerometer on their infant’s FAB for up to seven days. Parents were also given a physical diary that was used to record the daily application and removal of the orthotic in line with their treatment. Both methods produced very similar measurements of wear that visually aligned with the movement measured by the accelerometer. Bland Altman plots showed a −0.55-h bias in the diary measurements and the limits of agreement ranging from −2.96 h to 1.96 h. Furthermore, the Cohens Kappa coefficient for the entire dataset was 0.88, showing a very high level of agreement. The method provides an advantage over existing objective monitoring solutions as it can be easily applied to existing FABs, preventing the need for bespoke monitoring devices. The novel method can facilitate increased research into FAB compliance and help enable FAB monitoring in clinical practice.

Original languageEnglish
Article number2433
JournalSensors
Volume22
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Apr 2022
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Keywords

  • Clubfoot
  • Compliance
  • Foot abduction brace
  • Infants
  • Non-wear
  • Open access
  • Wear

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