Assessing Physical Performance in Free-Living Older Adults with a Wearable Computer

Qi Zhao; Jingjing Wang; Wenquan Feng; Wenyan Jia; Lora E Burke; Janice C Zgibor; Mingui Sun

doi:10.1109/NEBEC.2015.7117138

Assessing Physical Performance in Free-Living Older Adults with a Wearable Computer

Proc IEEE Annu Northeast Bioeng Conf. 2015 Apr:2015:10.1109/NEBEC.2015.7117138. doi: 10.1109/NEBEC.2015.7117138.

Authors

Qi Zhao¹, Jingjing Wang¹, Wenquan Feng¹, Wenyan Jia², Lora E Burke³, Janice C Zgibor⁴, Mingui Sun⁵

Affiliations

¹ School of Electronic and Information Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, China.
² Department of Neurosurgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
³ Department of Health and Community Systems, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
⁴ Department of Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
⁵ Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA ; Department of Neurosurgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.

Abstract

This study investigates the use of a chest-worn wearable computer, the eButton, to assess physical performance of older adults. The Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), a standard cliniucal test, is first conducted on older human subjects. Then, a triaxial accelerometer and a triaxial gyroscope within the eButton are utilized to record acceleration and angular velocity of body motion on the same subjects for one week. The sensor data corresponding to walking episodes are segmented and features in the time and frequency domains are extracted. Comparison between these features and the total SPPB scores shows that the sensor data acquired in free-living conditions can be used as indicators of the subjects physical performance.

Abstract

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