Researchers from The Open University (OU), in collaboration with Cardiff University, have developed free software to monitor movement in people recovering from lower limb injury or surgery.
OU PhD student Riasat Islam in collaboration with Dr Mohammad Al-Amri, Dr Mohamed Bennasar and Professor Blaine Price created a custom prototype, known as MoJoXlab.
The movement analysis software can be used to monitor an individual’s progress when recovering from hip, knee and ankle injuries and conditions.
Software rivals expensive competitors
MoJoXlab, tested using an algorithm developed by researchers at Cardiff University’s Biomechanics and Bioengineering Research Centre Versus Arthritis, rivals other expensive software on the market and is free to use.
Riasat Islam, Open University PhD student, said:
“We are proposing a free alternative and have developed a prototype that can be easily used by clinicians, such as physiotherapists, sports scientists or anyone who is interested in lower-limb movement analysis using wearable inertial sensors.”
The joint team validated the software with movement data obtained by Cardiff University from 27 healthy individuals, and 20 patients with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. Each person performed activities, such as walking, jumping and squatting, and their movements were captured by wearable sensors and analysed using MoJoXlab.
The results showed that MoJoXlab is comparable to other expensive software on the market. Thus, offering healthcare professionals a cheaper alternative to accurately measure and analyse lower-limb movement to the required clinical accuracy.
Revolutionary technology
MoJoXlab has the potential to help revolutionise physiotherapy as both the patient and clinician will be able to monitor and accurately measure progress.
Riasat adds: “For people recovering from lower limb injuries, physiotherapists can use wearable sensors and MoJoXlab software to analyse their movements more effectively.”
Speaking on MoJoXlab, Professor Blaine Price, of The Open University, said:
“This work is the first step in a collaboration that we think will revolutionise physiotherapy, especially at a time when social distancing requires clinicians to minimise patient contact. For the first time, physiotherapists and surgeons will be able to get daily accurate automatic feedback on patient progress.”
Dr Al-Amri, of Cardiff University, said:
“MoJoXlab is an accessible and accurate way to monitor and measure the progress of a patient. One of our aims at The Sensor Physiotherapy Intervention (SPIN) Research Group, Cardiff University, is to bridge the gap between laboratory human analysis and clinical settings. MoJoXlab can be used in clinical settings to not only improve physiotherapy treatment time but also to support the NHS in delivering the best possible patient outcome.”
For more on the study and the prototype, read the paper published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research on mHealth and uHealth.
