Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
(1) Background: Measuring joint range of motion has traditionally occurred with a universal goniometer or expensive laboratory based kinematic analysis systems. Technological advances in wearable inertial measurement units (IMU) enables limb motion to be measured with a small portable electronic device. This paper aims to validate an IMU, the ‘Biokin’, for measuring shoulder range of motion in healthy adults; (2) Methods: Thirty participants completed four shoulder movements (forward flexion, abduction, and internal and external rotation) on each shoulder. Each movement was assessed with a goniometer and the IMU by two testers independently. The extent of agreement between each tester’s goniometer and IMU measurements was assessed with intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) and Bland-Altman 95% limits of agreement (LOA). Secondary analysis compared agreement between tester’s goniometer or IMU measurements (inter-rater reliability) using ICC’s and LOA; (3) Results: Goniometer and IMU measurements for all movements showed high levels of agreement when taken by the same tester; ICCs > 0.90 and LOAs ±5 degrees); (4) Conclusions: The current study provides preliminary evidence of the concurrent validity of the Biokin IMU for assessing shoulder movements, but only when a single tester took measurements. Further testing of the Biokin’s psychometric properties is required before it can be confidently used in routine clinical practice and research settings.
Rigoni et al. (Sat,) studied this question.