Smartphone application for computing joint range of motion: a reliability test for its efficacy

Prasad P. Dhage, Waqar M. Naqvi*, Chaitanya A. Kulkarni, Sakshi P. Arora

Ravi Nair Physiotherapy College, Datta Meghe Institute of Medical sciences, Wardha, Maharashtra, India.

ABSTRACT

"Goniometry" is derived from two Greek words: Gonia, which means "angle," and Metron, which means "measure." The focus of the research is to see if a smartphone-based goniometer application for knee flexion range of motion was reliable. The technology of smartphones is one of the most often used alternatives. A literature evaluation of 12 studies showed that smartphone applications are sufficiently trustworthy to be employed in research and clinical practice. As ROM angulation is widely employed in treatment policy decisions, new measures have to be thoroughly tested before use in clinical practice. The study design used was an observational study. The participants were recruited using a simple random sampling method. The total number of participants was 100 in the age group between 20-60. With Universal Goniometer and Goniometer records, three certified physiotherapists measured maximum active knee flexion in a supine position. Data was collected and analysed using SPSS (version: 20) and the Bland Altman Test was used. Results revealed that a significant correlation was found between the application Goniometer Records (r=0.9409) and Universal Goniometer (r= 0.8149) methods for the mean of 3 trials. The application Goniometer records mean and the universal goniometer means were found to differ significantly by the two-tailed paired t-test. The ICC and 95% confidence interval (CI) for Smartphone Goniometer was 0.9409 (95% CI, 0.9133-0.9599) and that for Universal Goniometer was 0.8149 (95% CI, 0.7363-0.871). It could be concluded that the Goniometer Records demonstrated acceptable test-retest reliability. The Goniometer Records exhibited high reliability.

Keywords:

Universal Goniometer, Goniometer Records, Smartphone Goniometer, Knee Flexion, Range Of Motion.