SoPhy: A wearable Technology for Lower Limb Assessment in Video Consultations of Physiotherapy

SoPhy: A Wearable Technology
for Lower Limb Assessment
in Video Consultations of
Physiotherapy
Deepti Aggarwal, Weiyi Zhang, Thuong Hoang,
Bernd Ploderer, Frank Vetere, Mark Bradford
Wednesday, 10 May 17

Video Consultations of Physiotherapy
van Dyk 2014; Yellowlees 2005

Bodily Communication in Physiotherapy

ACM DIS 2016

Lower Body
Movements

Limited Understanding of Subtle Differences
Weight Distribution Range of Movement

Focused on the Upper Torso

Focusing Camera Removes the Context

Reduced confidence in
assessment
Less effective treatment
Aggarwal et al. 2016

Research Aim
How can we design technologies
to enhance diagnostic confidence
of physiotherapists for assessing
lower limb movements during
video consultations?

What to capture?

Key aspects of lower body movements
Weight
Distribution
Range of
Movements
Foot
Orientation

How to capture?

SoPhy
SOcks for PHYsiotherapy
Socks with sensors Web interface

SoPhy socks
IMU
Pressure
Sensors
Bluetooth
Shield
Arduino
Pro Mini

SoPhy web-interface

Short video available at:
https://vimeo.com/188358214

Lab study
Clinician’s room
10 physiotherapists & 1 actor (patient)
Patient’s room

Study Design (2x2)
Extreme pain Low pain
Factors: Consultation Technology & Pain Levels

Study Design (2X2)
Independent
Variables
Consultation Technology - with
SoPhy & without SoPhy
Pain Levels - extreme and low
Dependent
Variables
Weight Distribution, Range of
Movement, Foot Orientation,
Confidence, #Repetitions
Data
Collection
Interviews, Questionnaire, Video
Recording

Tasks for
Participants
Assess the patient’s exercises
Organize 4 video sessions
Fill in a questionnaire (total 4)

Tasks for Actor
Dorsiflexion &
Plantarflexion
1-leg tip-toes &
2-leg tip-toes
Squats

Increase in Confidence
The sock system offered confirmation to my
hypothesis. I used the strategy of first seeing
the video and then form an assessment. After
a couple of repetitions with video, I used the
interface to confirm my assessment. (P8)
Exercises with SoPhy without SoPhy
Squats
F(1,36) = 10.97, p<.01
M = 5.75,
SD = 1.06
M = 4.17,
SD = 1.13

Fewer Repetitions of Exercises
Exercises with SoPhy
without
SoPhy
Dorsiflexion
F(1,36) = 6.99, p<.05
M = 8.10,
SD = 3.21
M = 11.25,
SD = 4.54
Plantarflexion
F(1,36) = 6.14, p<.05
M = 7.45,
SD = 3.88
M = 10.60,
SD = 4.24
Squats
F(1,36) = 8.36, p<.01
M = 6.05,
SD = 2.48
M = 8.05,
SD = 3.18

Fewer Repetitions of Exercises
Over video, I can see the person only from
one direction. [...] The sock system provides
me this detailed information irrespective of
how the person is standing or sitting. I did not
ask the patient to turn backwards or sideways
when I had the sock data - the system was
already doing it for me. (P3)

Deeper Insights on Weight Distribution
It’s always challenging to understand weight
bearing because the pressure points are not
visible. It’s easy in cases when the person is
putting more weight on one foot than other.
But it is difficult to understand how the
pressure is distributed across the foot, is it on
the heels, or on the balls. (P8)

Design Considerations

Revealing Foot Contours

Opportunities for
Other Media

Conclusion
Extension of video consultations beyond audio-
visual medium
First exploration to enhance the ability of
physiotherapists during video consultations

Deployments at the Hospital

Deepti Aggarwal
daggarwal@student.unimelb.edu.au

SoPhy: A wearable Technology for Lower Limb Assessment in Video Consultations of Physiotherapy

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SoPhy: A wearable Technology for Lower Limb Assessment in Video Consultations of Physiotherapy