New technologies to optimize assessment of mobility, activity, and health in the frail elderly
This tool-kit and the information it provided will provide essential information to track the health trajectory of individuals; enabling health care professionals to better guide personalized care and as such, improve clinical outcomes and quality of life of older adults.
Research Results
Impact of findings: It has been argued that a measurement of mobility/balance should serve as a vital health sign, potentially as important as a measure like blood pressure, and should be collected routinely during clinical visits. Tools that clinicians can use to measure balance and walking in the clinic in order that they can detect changes and recommend strategies to improve mobility, reduce fall risk and enhance activity is a priority. This tool can assist in identifying and quantifying frailty. The tool is easy to use, low cost and sensitive enough to more easily reveal meaningful changes that occur over time by comparing results over repeated testing. This will facilitate earlier detection of acute or chronic changes and more timely interventions to counter such changes ultimately leading to improved care of frail elderly Canadians.
Publications, presentations and webinars
About the Project
Much attention has been directed to frailty as a specific threshold that is associated with significant risk to health in older adults. There remains considerable debate about the construct of the frailty threshold and the tools used to assess frailty, but what is clear is the need to quantify health status in order to denote important changes requiring attention. Advancing technology to improve the metrics used to quantify health status in older adults is critical in redefining important thresholds such as frailty, as well as improving the ability to predict individuals at risk of rapid progression, to assess the impact of specific risk factors and to assess interventions designed to slow or even reverse important frailty-related changes. Among these are metrics related to the domains of mobility, balance, activity and cognition.
The primary focus of this proposal was to continue to advance the development of an inexpensive, wireless measurement system capable of quantifying changes in these areas. Prior to the program, no clinimetrically sensitive technology existed for use within routine clinical care to objectively quantify these domains as indicators of health status. Building upon a prototype system, the proposal aimed to address three objectives: (1) to improve the compatibility of the existing software, (2) to develop and implement a simplified user interface and (3) to develop and implement customized protocols and reporting suitable for older adults with complex health conditions.
For more details on the project rationale, hypothesis and objectives, click here.
Project Team
Principal Investigators:
William McIlroy, PhD — University of Waterloo
Don Cowan, PhD, BASc, MSc — University of Waterloo
Co-Investigators:
Avril Mansfield, PhD, RKin — Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network
Kathryn Sibley, PhD — University of Manitoba
Knowledge Users and Partners:
Josie d’Avernas, MSc — Schlegel Villages
Liz Inness, MSc, BScPT — Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network
Jaimie Killingbeck, BSc, RKin — Schlegel Villages
Schlegel-University of Waterloo Research Institute for Aging
Project Contact: William McIlroy — wmcilroy@uwaterloo.ca
CAT 2014-02
This tool-kit and the information it provided will provide essential information to track the health trajectory of individuals; enabling health care professionals to better guide personalized care and as such, improve clinical outcomes and quality of life of older adults.
Principal Investigators
William McIlroy, PhD — University of Waterloo
Don Cowan, PhD, BASc, MSc — University of Waterloo
Publications
Van Ooteghem, K., Badiuk, B., Thomson, S., McIlroy, W. Making the case for evaluating individual domains of balance and mobility function in older adults: a practical, technology-based approach applied to older adults living in assisted care. Submitted to Gerontology.
Presentations
McIlroy, W., Badiuk, B., Van Ooteghem, K. (June 2015). Beyond gait speed: using wearable technology to assess balance and mobility. Falls & Mobility Annual Network Meeting. Toronto, ON.
This tool-kit and the information it provided will provide essential information to track the health trajectory of individuals; enabling health care professionals to better guide personalized care and as such, improve clinical outcomes and quality of life of older adults.
Principal Investigators
William McIlroy, PhD — University of Waterloo
Don Cowan, PhD, BASc, MSc — University of Waterloo
Rationale: The primary focus of the current proposal is to continue to advance the development of an inexpensive, wireless measurement system capable of quantifying changes in these areas. Currently, no sensitive technology exists for use within routine clinical care to objectively quantify these domains as indicators of health status.
Hypothesis: This project was a development project, rather than a scientific study, and as such did not advance or test specific hypotheses.
Objectives: Advance the development and implementation of an inexpensive wireless tool-kit that can be used to assess key constructs of the health of older adults including: mobility, balance and strength. It can be used as a rapid screening tool but importantly also serves as a source of quantitative information to provide insight into potential targets for remediation and guide clinical decision making.