Spine Curve Measures Taken in Individuals with Osteoporosis and Osteopenia Using the IONmed Mobile Phone Application Are Highly Consistent with Digital Inclinometer Measures

Introduction . This study determined the agreement between measures of standing posture in individuals at risk of osteoporotic fracture obtained using the IONmed mobile phone application and a digital inclinometer. Methods . One experienced rater assessed 20 adults, aged 55–88 years, attending an outpatient osteoporosis clinic. A standardized protocol was duplicated to acquire a single measure of spine curvature (lumbosacral angle, lordosis, kyphosis) using the IONmed mobile phone application and a digital inclinometer. Interdevice agreement was determined using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) and standard error of the measurement (SEM) with 95% CI and Bland-Altman plots. Results . ICC (95% CI) for lumbosacral angle, lordosis, and kyphosis is 0.97 (0.92, 0.99), 0.97 (0.92, 0.99), and 0.99 (0.98, 1.0), respectively. SEM (95% CI) for lumbosacral angle, lordosis, and kyphosis is 0.99° (0.75, 1.44), 1.33° (1.01, 1.94), and 1.23° (0.94, 1.80), respectively. Measurement bias is small. Conclusions . In our sample, the IONmed mobile phone application provides measures highly consistent with the digital inclinometer measures of standing posture. This method offers clinicians a quick, convenient way of identifying alterations in spine alignment which require followup and remediation.