Abstract
Background Context
Healthcare reforms that demand quantitative outcomes and technical innovations have
emphasized the use of Disability and Functional Outcome Measurements (DFOMs) to spinal
conditions and interventions. Virtual healthcare has become increasingly important
following the COVID-19 pandemic, and wearable medical devices have proven to be a
useful adjunct. Thus, given the advancement of wearable technology, broad adoption
of commercial devices (ie, smartwatches, phone applications, and wearable monitors)
by the general public, and the growing demand from consumers to take control of their
health, the medical industry is now primed to formally incorporate evidence-based
wearable device-mediated telehealth into standards of care.
Purpose
To (1) identify all wearable devices in the peer-reviewed literature that were used
to assess DFOMs in Spine, (2) analyze clinical studies implementing such devices in
spine care, and (3) provide clinical commentary on how such devices might be integrated
into standards of care.
Study Design/Setting
A systematic review.
Methods
A comprehensive systematic review was conducted in adherence to the Preferred Reporting
Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Guidelines (PRISMA) across the following
databases: PubMed; MEDLINE; EMBASE (Elsevier); and Scopus. Articles related to wearables
systems in spine healthcare were selected. Extracted data was collected as per a predetermined
checklist including wearable device type, study design, and clinical indices studied.
Results
Of the 2,646 publications that were initially screened, 55 were extensively analyzed
and selected for retrieval. Ultimately 39 publications were identified as being suitable
for inclusion based on the relevance of their content to the core objectives of this
systematic review. The most relevant studies were included, with a focus on wearables
technologies that can be used in patients’ home environments.
Conclusions
Wearable technologies mentioned in this paper have the potential to revolutionize
spine healthcare through their ability to collect data continuously and in any environment.
In this paper, the vast majority of wearable spine devices rely exclusively on accelerometers.
Thus, these metrics provide information about general health rather than specific
impairments caused by spinal conditions. As wearable technology becomes more prevalent
in orthopedics, healthcare costs may be reduced and patient outcomes will improve.
A combination of DFOMs gathered using a wearable device in conjunction with patient-reported
outcomes and radiographic measurements will provide a comprehensive evaluation of
a spine patient's health and assist the physician with patient-specific treatment
decision-making. Establishing these ubiquitous diagnostic capabilities will allow
improvement in patient monitoring and help us learn about postoperative recovery and
the impact of our interventions.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: March 06, 2023
Accepted:
February 27,
2023
Received in revised form:
February 27,
2023
Received:
December 5,
2022
Publication stage
In Press Journal Pre-ProofFootnotes
FDA device/drug status: Not applicable.
Author disclosures: RH: Consulting: Medtronic Spine & Biologics (B); Grants: Medtronic Spine & Biologics (E). ML: Nothing to disclose. EM: Nothing to disclose. AF: Nothing to disclose. AD: Nothing to disclose.
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
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