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Minoretti P, Lahmar A, Emanuele E. Where is your smartphone? An unusual mass within the tensor fasciae latae muscle. Radiol Case Rep 2023; 18:3984-3987. [PMID: 37680657 PMCID: PMC10480452 DOI: 10.1016/j.radcr.2023.08.079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2023] [Revised: 08/09/2023] [Accepted: 08/14/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023] Open
Abstract
We report a case of a 40-year-old Italian man presenting with an intramuscular schwannoma in his left thigh, which coincided with the area where he habitually stored his smartphone (front left trouser pocket). An ultrasound examination revealed a well-defined, encapsulated, hypoechoic lesion (41 × 15 × 28 mm) within the muscle, showing multiple small foci of vascularity on color Doppler. Elastographic analysis indicated a deformability score of 2, with some areas of stiffness. Magnetic resonance imaging confirmed the presence of a spindle-shaped mass in the tensor fasciae latae muscle, with varying enhancement after contrast administration. Notably, the location of the intramuscular mass closely corresponded to the placement of the phone's SIM card. While we cannot establish a definitive causal relationship between the patient's smartphone storage habit and the development of the intramuscular schwannoma, we speculate that the habitual storage location may have potentially acted as a risk or predisposing factor. This case underscores the need for further research on the potential health risks associated with smartphone storage habits, considering their widespread prevalence in today's society.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Abdelilah Lahmar
- Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Mohammed I University, Oujda, Morocco
| | - Enzo Emanuele
- 2E Science, Via Monte Grappa 13, I-27038 Robbio, Italy
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Strongman C, Cavallerio F, Timmis MA, Morrison A. A Scoping Review of the Validity and Reliability of Smartphone Accelerometers When Collecting Kinematic Gait Data. SENSORS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 23:8615. [PMID: 37896708 PMCID: PMC10611257 DOI: 10.3390/s23208615] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2023] [Revised: 10/18/2023] [Accepted: 10/19/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023]
Abstract
The aim of this scoping review is to evaluate and summarize the existing literature that considers the validity and/or reliability of smartphone accelerometer applications when compared to 'gold standard' kinematic data collection (for example, motion capture). An electronic keyword search was performed on three databases to identify appropriate research. This research was then examined for details of measures and methodology and general study characteristics to identify related themes. No restrictions were placed on the date of publication, type of smartphone, or participant demographics. In total, 21 papers were reviewed to synthesize themes and approaches used and to identify future research priorities. The validity and reliability of smartphone-based accelerometry data have been assessed against motion capture, pressure walkways, and IMUs as 'gold standard' technology and they have been found to be accurate and reliable. This suggests that smartphone accelerometers can provide a cheap and accurate alternative to gather kinematic data, which can be used in ecologically valid environments to potentially increase diversity in research participation. However, some studies suggest that body placement may affect the accuracy of the result, and that position data correlate better than actual acceleration values, which should be considered in any future implementation of smartphone technology. Future research comparing different capture frequencies and resulting noise, and different walking surfaces, would be useful.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clare Strongman
- Cambridge Centre for Sport and Exercise Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University, East Road, Cambridge CB1 1PT, UK; (F.C.); (M.A.T.); (A.M.)
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Rinderknecht MD, Zanon M, Boonstra TA, Angelini L, Stanev D, Chan GG, Bunn L, Dondelinger F, Hosking R, Freeman J, Hobart J, Marsden J, Craveiro L. An observational study to assess validity and reliability of smartphone sensor-based gait and balance assessments in multiple sclerosis: Floodlight GaitLab protocol. Digit Health 2023; 9:20552076231205284. [PMID: 37868156 PMCID: PMC10588425 DOI: 10.1177/20552076231205284] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2023] [Accepted: 09/18/2023] [Indexed: 10/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Gait and balance impairments are often present in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) and have a significant impact on quality of life and independence. Gold-standard quantitative tools for assessing gait and balance such as motion capture systems and force plates usually require complex technical setups. Wearable sensors, including those integrated into smartphones, offer a more frequent, convenient, and minimally burdensome assessment of functional disability in a home environment. We developed a novel smartphone sensor-based application (Floodlight) that is being used in multiple research and clinical contexts, but a complete validation of this technology is still lacking. Methods This protocol describes an observational study designed to evaluate the analytical and clinical validity of Floodlight gait and balance tests. Approximately 100 PwMS and 35 healthy controls will perform multiple gait and balance tasks in both laboratory-based and real-world environments in order to explore the following properties: (a) concurrent validity of the Floodlight gait and balance tests against gold-standard assessments; (b) reliability of Floodlight digital measures derived under different controlled gait and balance conditions, and different on-body sensor locations; (c) ecological validity of the tests; and (d) construct validity compared with clinician- and patient-reported assessments. Conclusions The Floodlight GaitLab study (ISRCTN15993728) represents a critical step in the technical validation of Floodlight technology to measure gait and balance in PwMS, and will also allow the development of new test designs and algorithms.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Lisa Bunn
- Faculty of Health, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK
| | | | | | - Jenny Freeman
- Faculty of Health, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK
| | - Jeremy Hobart
- Plymouth University Peninsula Schools of Medicine and Dentistry, Plymouth, UK
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Stampfler T, Elgendi M, Fletcher RR, Menon C. Fall detection using accelerometer-based smartphones: Where do we go from here? Front Public Health 2022; 10:996021. [PMID: 36324447 PMCID: PMC9618891 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.996021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2022] [Accepted: 09/21/2022] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
According to World Health Organization statistics, falls are the second leading cause of unintentional injury deaths worldwide. With older people being particularly vulnerable, detecting, and reporting falls have been the focus of numerous health technology studies. We screened 267 studies and selected 15 that detailed pervasive fall detection and alerting apps that used smartphone accelerometers. The fall datasets used for the analyses included between 4 and 38 participants and contained data from young and old subjects, with the recorded falls performed exclusively by young subjects. Threshold-based detection was implemented in six cases, while machine learning approaches were implemented in the other nine, including decision trees, k-nearest neighbors, boosting, and neural networks. All methods could ultimately achieve real-time detection, with reported sensitivities ranging from 60.4 to 99.3% and specificities from 74.6 to 100.0%. However, the studies had limitations in their experimental set-ups or considered a restricted scope of daily activities-not always representative of daily life-with which to define falls during the development of their algorithms. Finally, the studies omitted some aspects of data science methodology, such as proper test sets for results evaluation, putting into question whether reported results would correspond to real-world performance. The two primary outcomes of our review are: a ranking of selected articles based on bias risk and a set of 12 impactful and actionable recommendations for future work in fall detection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tristan Stampfler
- Biomedical and Mobile Health Technology Laboratory, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Mohamed Elgendi
- Biomedical and Mobile Health Technology Laboratory, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland,*Correspondence: Mohamed Elgendi
| | - Richard Ribon Fletcher
- Mobile Technology Group, Department of Mechanical Engineering, MIT, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Carlo Menon
- Biomedical and Mobile Health Technology Laboratory, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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Zeleke BM, Brzozek C, Bhatt CR, Abramson MJ, Freudenstein F, Croft RJ, Wiedemann PM, Benke G. Mobile phone carrying locations and risk perception of men: A cross-sectional study. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0269457. [PMID: 35671286 PMCID: PMC9173639 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0269457] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2021] [Accepted: 05/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Little was known about the relationship between carrying mobile phone handsets by men and their risk perception of radiofrequency-electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) exposure due to carrying handsets close to the body. This study aimed to determine where men usually carried their handsets and to assess the relationship to risk perception of RF-EMF. Participants completed a self-administered questionnaire about mobile phone use, handset carrying locations, and levels of risk perception to RF-EMF. Data were analysed using linear regression models to examine if risk perception differed by mobile phone carrying location. The participants were 356 men, aged 18–72 years. They owned a mobile phone for 2–29 years, with over three quarters (78.7%) having a mobile phone for over 20 years. The most common locations that men kept their handsets when they were ‘indoors’ were: on a table/desk (54.0%) or in close contact with the body (34.7%). When outside, 54.0% of men kept the handset in the front trouser pocket. While making or receiving calls, 85.0% of men held their mobile phone handset against the head and 15.0% either used earphones or loudspeaker. Men who carried their handset in close contact with the body perceived higher risks from RF-EMF exposure compared to those who kept it away from the body (p<0.01). A substantial proportion of men carried their mobile phone handsets in close proximity to reproductive organs i.e. front pocket of trousers (46.5%). Men who kept their handset with the hand (p < .05), and those who placed it in the T-shirt pocket (p < .05), while the phone was not in use, were more likely to perceive health risks from their behaviour, compared to those who kept it away from the body. However, whether this indicates a causal relationship, remains open.
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Affiliation(s)
- Berihun M. Zeleke
- Centre for Population Health Research on Electromagnetic Energy (PRESEE), School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
- * E-mail:
| | - Christopher Brzozek
- Centre for Population Health Research on Electromagnetic Energy (PRESEE), School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Chhavi Raj Bhatt
- Monash Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
- School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Michael J. Abramson
- Centre for Population Health Research on Electromagnetic Energy (PRESEE), School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
- Monash Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Frederik Freudenstein
- Centre for Population Health Research on Electromagnetic Energy (PRESEE), School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
- Monash Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
- Australian Centre for Electromagnetic Bioeffects Research, Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute, School of Psychology, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia
| | - Rodney J. Croft
- Centre for Population Health Research on Electromagnetic Energy (PRESEE), School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
- Australian Centre for Electromagnetic Bioeffects Research, Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute, School of Psychology, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia
| | - Peter M. Wiedemann
- Centre for Population Health Research on Electromagnetic Energy (PRESEE), School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Geza Benke
- Centre for Population Health Research on Electromagnetic Energy (PRESEE), School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
- Monash Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
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Validity of Consumer Activity Monitors and an Algorithm Using Smartphone Data for Measuring Steps during Different Activity Types. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2020; 17:ijerph17249314. [PMID: 33322833 PMCID: PMC7764011 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17249314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2020] [Revised: 11/26/2020] [Accepted: 12/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Background: Consumer activity monitors and smartphones have gained relevance for the assessment and promotion of physical activity. The aim of this study was to determine the concurrent validity of various consumer activity monitor models and smartphone models for measuring steps. Methods: Participants completed three activity protocols: (1) overground walking with three different speeds (comfortable, slow, fast), (2) activities of daily living (ADLs) focusing on arm movements, and (3) intermittent walking. Participants wore 11 activity monitors (wrist: 8; hip: 2; ankle: 1) and four smartphones (hip: 3; calf: 1). Observed steps served as the criterion measure. The mean average percentage error (MAPE) was calculated for each device and protocol. Results: Eighteen healthy adults participated in the study (age: 28.8 ± 4.9 years). MAPEs ranged from 0.3–38.2% during overground walking, 48.2–861.2% during ADLs, and 11.2–47.3% during intermittent walking. Wrist-worn activity monitors tended to misclassify arm movements as steps. Smartphone data collected at the hip, analyzed with a separate algorithm, performed either equally or even superiorly to the research-grade ActiGraph. Conclusion: This study highlights the potential of smartphones for physical activity measurement. Measurement inaccuracies during intermittent walking and arm movements should be considered when interpreting study results and choosing activity monitors for evaluation purposes.
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Ahn JS, Kim DW, Kim J, Park H, Lee JE. Development of a Smartphone Application for Dietary Self-Monitoring. Front Nutr 2019; 6:149. [PMID: 31608283 PMCID: PMC6768016 DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2019.00149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2018] [Accepted: 08/27/2019] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
This article describes the key features of the Well-D, a mobile dietary self-monitoring application developed to assess and track dietary intake. To test the acceptability of the app, 102 adults aged 18 years or older were asked to use Well-D for 3 days or more. After using the app, they recorded their likes/dislikes and recommendations regarding ways to improve Well-D. A mobile application for dietary assessment and monitoring may have the potential to help individuals and groups to engage in healthy behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeong Sun Ahn
- Department of Food and Nutrition, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Dong Woo Kim
- Department of Home Economics, Korea National Open University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Jiae Kim
- Platform Development Team, Bluecore, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Haemin Park
- Platform Development Team, Bluecore, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Jung Eun Lee
- Department of Food and Nutrition, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea
- Research Institute of Human Ecology, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea
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On-Body Sensor Positions Hierarchical Classification. SENSORS 2018; 18:s18113612. [PMID: 30356012 PMCID: PMC6263469 DOI: 10.3390/s18113612] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2018] [Revised: 10/21/2018] [Accepted: 10/22/2018] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Many motion sensor-based applications have been developed in recent years because they provide useful information about daily activities and current health status of users. However, most of these applications require knowledge of sensor positions. Therefore, this research focused on the problem of detecting sensor positions. We collected standing-still and walking sensor data at various body positions from ten subjects. The offset values were removed by subtracting the sensor data of standing-still phase from the walking data for each axis of each sensor unit. Our hierarchical classification technique is based on optimizing local classifiers. Many common features are computed, and informative features are selected for specific classifications. In this approach, local classifiers such as arm-side and hand-side discriminations yielded F1-scores of 0.99 and 1.00, correspondingly. Overall, the proposed method achieved an F1-score of 0.81 and 0.84 using accelerometers and gyroscopes, respectively. Furthermore, we also discuss contributive features and parameter tuning in this analysis.
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Brodie MA, Pliner EM, Ho A, Li K, Chen Z, Gandevia SC, Lord SR. Big data vs accurate data in health research: Large-scale physical activity monitoring, smartphones, wearable devices and risk of unconscious bias. Med Hypotheses 2018; 119:32-36. [PMID: 30122488 DOI: 10.1016/j.mehy.2018.07.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2018] [Revised: 06/29/2018] [Accepted: 07/14/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
Fundamental to the advancement of scientific knowledge is unbiased, accurate and validated measurement techniques. Recent United Nations and landmark Nature publications highlight the global uptake of mobile technology and the staggering potential for big data to encourage people to be physically active and to influence health policy. However, concerns exist about inconsistencies in smartphone health apps. Big data has many benefits, but noisy data may lead to wrong conclusions. In reaction to the increasing availability of low quality data; we call for a rigorous debate into the validity of substituting big data for accurate data in health research. We evaluated the step counting accuracy of a smartphone app previously used by 717,527 people from 111 countries. Our new data (from 48 participants; aged 21-59 years; body mass index 17.7-33.5 kg/m2) revealed significant (15-66%) undercounting by Apple phones. In contrast to the generally positive performances of wearable devices for stereotypical treadmill like walking, we observed extraordinarily large (0-200% of steps taken) error ranges for both Android and Apple phones. Unconscious bias (developers' perceptions of usual behaviour) may be embedded into many unvalidated smartphone apps. Consumer-grade wearable devices appear unsuitable to detect steps in people with slow, short or non-stereotypical gait patterns. Specifically, there is a risk of systematically undercounting the steps by obese people, females or people from different ethnic groups resulting in biases when reporting associations between physical inactivity and obesity. More research is required to develop smartphone apps suitable for all people of the heterogeneous global population.
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Affiliation(s)
- M A Brodie
- Falls Balance & Injury Research Centre, Neuroscience Research Australia, NSW, Australia; Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, University of New South Wales, NSW, Australia.
| | - E M Pliner
- Falls Balance & Injury Research Centre, Neuroscience Research Australia, NSW, Australia; Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - A Ho
- Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, University of New South Wales, NSW, Australia
| | - Kalina Li
- Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, University of New South Wales, NSW, Australia
| | - Z Chen
- Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, University of New South Wales, NSW, Australia
| | - S C Gandevia
- Falls Balance & Injury Research Centre, Neuroscience Research Australia, NSW, Australia; School of Medicine, University of New South Wales, NSW, Australia
| | - S R Lord
- Falls Balance & Injury Research Centre, Neuroscience Research Australia, NSW, Australia; School of Medicine, University of New South Wales, NSW, Australia
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Höchsmann C, Knaier R, Eymann J, Hintermann J, Infanger D, Schmidt-Trucksäss A. Validity of activity trackers, smartphones, and phone applications to measure steps in various walking conditions. Scand J Med Sci Sports 2018; 28:1818-1827. [DOI: 10.1111/sms.13074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/01/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- C. Höchsmann
- Division of Sports and Exercise Medicine; Department of Sport, Exercise and Health; University of Basel; Basel Switzerland
| | - R. Knaier
- Division of Sports and Exercise Medicine; Department of Sport, Exercise and Health; University of Basel; Basel Switzerland
| | - J. Eymann
- Division of Sports and Exercise Medicine; Department of Sport, Exercise and Health; University of Basel; Basel Switzerland
| | - J. Hintermann
- Division of Sports and Exercise Medicine; Department of Sport, Exercise and Health; University of Basel; Basel Switzerland
| | - D. Infanger
- Division of Sports and Exercise Medicine; Department of Sport, Exercise and Health; University of Basel; Basel Switzerland
| | - A. Schmidt-Trucksäss
- Division of Sports and Exercise Medicine; Department of Sport, Exercise and Health; University of Basel; Basel Switzerland
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