Usefulness of Modern Activity Trackers for Monitoring Exercise Behavior in Chronic Cardiac Patients: Validation Study

A scoping review on advancements in noninvasive wearable technology for heart failure management

Wearables offer a promising solution for enhancing remote monitoring (RM) of heart failure (HF) patients by tracking key physiological parameters. Despite their potential, their clinical integration faces challenges due to the lack of rigorous evaluations. This review aims to summarize the current evidence and assess the readiness of wearables for clinical practice using the Medical Device Readiness Level (MDRL). A systematic search identified 99 studies from 3112 found articles, with only eight being randomized controlled trials. Accelerometery was the most used measurement technique. Consumer-grade wearables, repurposed for HF monitoring, dominated the studies with most of them in the feasibility testing stage (MDRL 6). Only two of the described wearables were specifically designed for HF RM, and received FDA approval. Consequently, the actual impact of wearables on HF management remains uncertain due to limited robust evidence, posing a significant barrier to their integration into HF care.

Validation of ActiGraph and Fitbit in the assessment of energy expenditure in Huntington's disease

BACKGROUND

Consumer and research activity monitors have become popular because of their ability to quantify energy expenditure (EE) in free-living conditions. However, the accuracy of activity trackers in determining EE in people with Huntington's Disease (HD) is unknown.

RESEARCH QUESTION

Can the ActiGraph wGT3X-B or the Fitbit Charge 4 accurately measure energy expenditure during physical activity, in people with HD compared to Indirect Calorimetry (IC) (Medisoft Ergo Card)?

METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional, observational study with fourteen participants with mild-moderate HD (mean age 55.7 ± 11.4 years). All participants wore an ActiGraph and Fitbit during an incremental test, running on a treadmill at 3.2 km/h and 5.2 km/h for three minutes at each speed. We analysed and compared the accuracy of EE estimates obtained by Fitbit and ActiGraph against the EE estimates obtained by a metabolic cart, using with Intra-class correlation (ICC), Bland-Altman analysis and correlation tests.

RESULTS

A significant correlation and a moderate reliability was found between ActiGraph and IC for the incremental test (r = 0.667)(ICC=0.633). There was a significant correlation between Fitbit and IC during the incremental test (r = 0.701), but the reliability was poor at all tested speeds in the treadmill walk. Fitbit significantly overestimated EE, and ActiGraph underestimated EE compared to IC, but ActiGraph estimates were more accurate than Fitbit in all tests.

SIGNIFICANCE

Compared to IC, Fitbit Charge 4 and ActiGraph wGT3X-BT have reduced accuracy in estimating EE at slower walking speeds. These findings highlight the need for population-specific algorithms and validation of activity trackers.

Measurement properties of device-based physical activity instruments in ambulatory adults with physical disabilities and/or chronic diseases: a scoping review

BACKGROUND

People with physical disabilities and/or chronic diseases tend to have an inactive lifestyle. Monitoring physical activity levels is important to provide insight on how much and what types of activities people with physical disabilities and/or chronic diseases engage in. This information can be used as input for interventions to promote a physically active lifestyle. Therefore, valid and reliable physical activity measurement instruments are needed. This scoping review aims 1) to provide a critical mapping of the existing literature and 2) directions for future research on measurement properties of device-based instruments assessing physical activity behavior in ambulant adults with physical disabilities and/or chronic diseases.

METHODS

Four databases (MEDLINE, CINAHL, Web of Science, Embase) were systematically searched from 2015 to April 16th 2023 for articles investigating measurement properties of device-based instruments assessing physical activity in ambulatory adults with physical disabilities and/or chronic diseases. For the majority, screening and selection of eligible studies were done in duplicate. Extracted data were publication data, study data, study population, device, studied measurement properties and study outcome. Data were synthesized per device.

RESULTS

One hundred three of 21566 Studies were included. 55 Consumer-grade and 23 research-grade devices were studied on measurement properties, using 14 different physical activity outcomes, in 23 different physical disabilities and/or chronic diseases. ActiGraph (n = 28) and Fitbit (n = 39) devices were most frequently studied. Steps (n = 68) was the most common used physical activity outcome. 97 studies determined validity, 11 studies reliability and 6 studies responsiveness.

CONCLUSION

This scoping review shows a large variability in research on measurement properties of device-based instruments in ambulatory adults with physical disabilities and/or chronic diseases. The variability highlights a need for standardization of and consensus on research in this field. The review provides directions for future research.

Impact of wearable device-based interventions with feedback for increasing daily walking activity and physical capacities in cardiovascular patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials

OBJECTIVE

To systematically review randomised controlled trials (RCTs) using a wearable physical activity monitoring device as an intervention to increase daily walking activity and improve physical capacities in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD).

DESIGN

Systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs.

DATA SOURCES

PubMed, Embase and Web of Science from inception to June 2022.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Randomised controlled studies including patients with CVD over 18 years of age at the end of a cardiac rehabilitation programme comparing an intervention group using a wearable physical activity monitoring device with feedback with usual care or with a control group receiving no feedback on their physical activity and reporting a change in the daily number of steps and/or a change in the distance covered in the 6-minute walk test (6-MWT) or a change in peak oxygen uptake (V̇O2_peak) as endpoints.

RESULTS

Sixteen RCTs were included. The intervention of wearing a physical activity monitoring device with feedback significantly improved daily number of steps compared with controls (standardised mean difference (SMD) 0.85; 95% CI (0.42; 1.27); p<0.01). The effect was greater when the duration of the intervention was less than 3 months (SMD 1.0; 95% CI (0.18; 1.82); p<0.01) than when the duration of the intervention was 3 months or longer (SMD 0.71; 95% CI (0.27; 1.16); p<0.01), but no significant interaction was found between subgroups (p=0.55). 6-MWT distance and V̇O2_peak showed only small effects (SMD 0.34; 95% CI (-0.11; 0.80); p=0.02 and SMD 0.54; 95% CI (0.03; 1.03); p=0.07, respectively).

CONCLUSION

The use of wearable physical activity monitoring devices appears to help patients with CVD to increase their daily walking activity and thus their physical activity, particularly in the short term.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER

CRD42022300423.

Wearable sensing, big data technology for cardiovascular healthcare: current status and future prospective

ABSTRACT

Wearable technology, which can continuously and remotely monitor physiological and behavioral parameters by incorporated into clothing or worn as an accessory, introduces a new era for ubiquitous health care. With big data technology, wearable data can be analyzed to help long-term cardiovascular care. This review summarizes the recent developments of wearable technology related to cardiovascular care, highlighting the most common wearable devices and their accuracy. We also examined the application of these devices in cardiovascular healthcare, such as the early detection of arrhythmias, measuring blood pressure, and detecting prevalent diabetes. We provide an overview of the challenges that hinder the widespread application of wearable devices, such as inadequate device accuracy, data redundancy, concerns associated with data security, and lack of meaningful criteria, and offer potential solutions. Finally, the future research direction for cardiovascular care using wearable devices is discussed.

Wearable Devices in Cardiovascular Medicine

Wearable devices, such as smartwatches and activity trackers, are commonly used by patients in their everyday lives to manage their health and well-being. These devices collect and analyze long-term continuous data on measures of behavioral or physiologic function, which may provide clinicians with a more comprehensive view of a patients' health compared with the traditional sporadic measures captured by office visits and hospitalizations. Wearable devices have a wide range of potential clinical applications ranging from arrhythmia screening of high-risk individuals to remote management of chronic conditions such as heart failure or peripheral artery disease. As the use of wearable devices continues to grow, we must adopt a multifaceted approach with collaboration among all key stakeholders to effectively and safely integrate these technologies into routine clinical practice. In this Review, we summarize the features of wearable devices and associated machine learning techniques. We describe key research studies that illustrate the role of wearable devices in the screening and management of cardiovascular conditions and identify directions for future research. Last, we highlight the challenges that are currently hindering the widespread use of wearable devices in cardiovascular medicine and provide short- and long-term solutions to promote increased use of wearable devices in clinical care.

Digitally enabled cardiac rehabilitation following coronary revascularization: results from a single centre feasibility study

Wearable activity monitors, together with smartphone-based health and fitness applications (apps), are becoming more accessible and their widespread use provides an additional opportunity for the recording of cardiovascular metrics in patients with cardiovascular disease. The use of selected metrics by cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programmes allows the facilitation of individualized and tailored positive lifestyle changes to patients and places the patient at the centre of their recovery programme. To investigate the role of such devices on outcomes with patients on a CR programme, a cohort/case–control study was conducted. Patients post-myocardial infarction who were treated with either percutaneous coronary intervention or surgical coronary revascularisation at a single centre were invited to use a physical activity monitor linked to a customized app at their initial assessment for the rehabilitation programme. Those who accepted were allocated to the treatment group. The control group was selected from a larger pool of 400 historical and concurrent patients. Propensity matching was used to associate each case with their closest control. The changes in self-reported physical activity were similar for both groups at the end of the CR programme (EOP). The digitally monitored group tended to achieve greater METS (metabolic equivalent of task - a measure of exercise intensity) at 12 weeks (P &lt; 0.059); however, no difference was observed in the overall change in METS at EOP (P &lt; 0.333). Although no difference was noted in diastolic blood pressure, a statistically significant drop in the systolic blood pressure in the digitally monitored group (P &lt; 0.004) was detected. In this study, the innovative combination of technology and face-to-face CR showed promising results and assisted the individualization of delivered content. This intervention could easily be replicated and expanded. Challenges are the recruitment of the elderly population, those who may be less engaged with or have less access to technology, and the underrepresentation of women in the study sample.

The first survey on patient needs for remote monitoring of cardiac implantable electronic device in South Korea

BACKGROUND/AIMS

Studies showed that remote device monitoring reduced unnecessary outpatient visits and increased patient satisfaction. As there was no local research on remote monitoring (RM) in Korea, there was a lack of evidence for policy or insurance standards due to the lack of domestic data despite high demand by domestic arrhythmia experts. To establish the basis for patient satisfaction, economic efficiency, and safety of wireless monitoring, a survey-based study was planned.

METHODS

This was a single-university hospital survey. The satisfaction index was evaluated using a questionnaire to investigate patient satisfaction in outpatient clinics, economic efficiency (measured as home-to-clinic time, waiting time, and actual clinic time), and demand for RM in patients with implantable cardiac devices. The questionnaire was adopted and modified from the Survey on Telehealth Patient Experience by Bas-Villalobos, 2006 (modified Korean version 2.0 by You Mi Hwang, 2020).

RESULTS

Surveys were answered by 171 patients. The mean age of these patients was 71.2 ± 12.4 years. Based on the survey, home to clinic time was usually less than one h, mean waiting time in the hospital until clinic time ranged 42.6 ± 24.5 minutes, and mean clinic time ranged 3.1 ± 1.7 minutes. Based on the survey, patients favored RM over hospital visits with cardiac implantable electronic device follow-up mainly because of long travel times from home to clinic.

CONCLUSION

Based on the survey results, there is a clear need for RM in patients who have cardiac implantable electronic devices.

Smart wearable devices in cardiovascular care: where we are and how to move forward

Technological innovations reach deeply into our daily lives and an emerging trend supports the use of commercial smart wearable devices to manage health. In the era of remote, decentralized and increasingly personalized patient care, catalysed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the cardiovascular community must familiarize itself with the wearable technologies on the market and their wide range of clinical applications. In this Review, we highlight the basic engineering principles of common wearable sensors and where they can be error-prone. We also examine the role of these devices in the remote screening and diagnosis of common cardiovascular diseases, such as arrhythmias, and in the management of patients with established cardiovascular conditions, for example, heart failure. To date, challenges such as device accuracy, clinical validity, a lack of standardized regulatory policies and concerns for patient privacy are still hindering the widespread adoption of smart wearable technologies in clinical practice. We present several recommendations to navigate these challenges and propose a simple and practical 'ABCD' guide for clinicians, personalized to their specific practice needs, to accelerate the integration of these devices into the clinical workflow for optimal patient care.

ESC working group on e-cardiology position paper: use of commercially available wearable technology for heart rate and activity tracking in primary and secondary cardiovascular prevention-in collaboration with the European Heart Rhythm Association, European Association of Preventive Cardiology, Association of Cardiovascular Nursing and Allied Professionals, Patient Forum, and the Digital Health Committee

Commercially available health technologies such as smartphones and smartwatches, activity trackers and eHealth applications, commonly referred to as wearables, are increasingly available and used both in the leisure and healthcare sector for pulse and fitness/activity tracking. The aim of the Position Paper is to identify specific barriers and knowledge gaps for the use of wearables, in particular for heart rate (HR) and activity tracking, in clinical cardiovascular healthcare to support their implementation into clinical care. The widespread use of HR and fitness tracking technologies provides unparalleled opportunities for capturing physiological information from large populations in the community, which has previously only been available in patient populations in the setting of healthcare provision. The availability of low-cost and high-volume physiological data from the community also provides unique challenges. While the number of patients meeting healthcare providers with data from wearables is rapidly growing, there are at present no clinical guidelines on how and when to use data from wearables in primary and secondary prevention. Technical aspects of HR tracking especially during activity need to be further validated. How to analyse, translate, and interpret large datasets of information into clinically applicable recommendations needs further consideration. While the current users of wearable technologies tend to be young, healthy and in the higher sociodemographic strata, wearables could potentially have a greater utility in the elderly and higher-risk population. Wearables may also provide a benefit through increased health awareness, democratization of health data and patient engagement. Use of continuous monitoring may provide opportunities for detection of risk factors and disease development earlier in the causal pathway, which may provide novel applications in both prevention and clinical research. However, wearables may also have potential adverse consequences due to unintended modification of behaviour, uncertain use and interpretation of large physiological data, a possible increase in social inequality due to differential access and technological literacy, challenges with regulatory bodies and privacy issues. In the present position paper, current applications as well as specific barriers and gaps in knowledge are identified and discussed in order to support the implementation of wearable technologies from gadget-ology into clinical cardiology.

Wrist-Worn Activity Trackers in Laboratory and Free-Living Settings for Patients With Chronic Pain: Criterion Validity Study

BACKGROUND

Physical activity is evidently a crucial part of the rehabilitation process for patients with chronic pain. Modern wrist-worn activity tracking devices seemingly have a great potential to provide objective feedback and assist in the adoption of healthy physical activity behavior by supplying data of energy expenditure expressed as metabolic equivalent of task units (MET). However, no studies of any wrist-worn activity tracking devices' have examined criterion validity in estimating energy expenditure, heart rate, or step count in patients with chronic pain.

OBJECTIVE

The aim was to determine the criterion validity of wrist-worn activity tracking devices for estimations of energy expenditure, heart rate, and step count in a controlled laboratory setting and free-living settings for patients with chronic pain.

METHODS

In this combined laboratory and field validation study, energy expenditure, heart rate, and step count were simultaneously estimated by a wrist-worn activity tracker (Fitbit Versa), indirect calorimetry (Jaeger Oxycon Pro), and a research-grade hip-worn accelerometer (ActiGraph GT3X) during treadmill walking at 3 speeds (3.0 km/h, 4.5 km/h, and 6.0 km/h) in the laboratory setting. Energy expenditure and step count were also estimated by the wrist-worn activity tracker in free-living settings for 72 hours. The criterion validity of each measure was determined using intraclass and Spearman correlation, Bland-Altman plots, and mean absolute percentage error. An analysis of variance was used to determine whether there were any significant systematic differences between estimations.

RESULTS

A total of 42 patients (age: 25-66 years; male: 10/42, 24%; female: 32/42, 76%), living with chronic pain (duration, in years: mean 9, SD 6.72) were included. At baseline, their mean pain intensity was 3.5 (SD 1.1) out of 6 (Multidimensional Pain Inventory, Swedish version). Results showed that the wrist-worn activity tracking device (Fitbit Versa) systematically overestimated energy expenditure when compared to the criterion standard (Jaeger Oxycon Pro) and the relative criterion standard (ActiGraph GT3X). Poor agreement and poor correlation were shown between Fitbit Versa and both Jaeger Oxycon Pro and ActiGraph GT3X for estimated energy expenditure at all treadmill speeds. Estimations of heart rate demonstrated poor to fair agreement during laboratory-based treadmill walks. For step count, the wrist-worn devices showed fair agreement and fair correlation at most treadmill speeds. In free-living settings; however, the agreement for step count between the wrist-worn device and waist-worn accelerometer was good, and the correlation was excellent.

CONCLUSIONS

The wrist-worn device systematically overestimated energy expenditure and showed poor agreement and correlation compared to the criterion standard (Jaeger Oxycon Pro) and the relative criterion standard (ActiGraph GT3X), which needs to be considered when used clinically. Step count measured with a wrist-worn device, however, seemed to be a valid estimation, suggesting that future guidelines could include such variables in this group with chronic pain.

Using Smart Bracelets to Assess Heart Rate Among Students During Physical Education Lessons: Feasibility, Reliability, and Validity Study

Background

An increasing number of wrist-worn wearables are being examined in the context of health care. However, studies of their use during physical education (PE) lessons remain scarce.

Objective

We aim to examine the reliability and validity of the Fizzo Smart Bracelet (Fizzo) in measuring heart rate (HR) in the laboratory and during PE lessons.

Methods

In Study 1, 11 healthy subjects (median age 22.0 years, IQR 3.75 years) twice completed a test that involved running on a treadmill at 6 km/h for 12 minutes and 12 km/h for 5 minutes. During the test, participants wore two Fizzo devices, one each on their left and right wrists, to measure their HR. At the same time, the Polar Team2 Pro (Polar), which is worn on the chest, was used as the standard. In Study 2, we went to 10 schools and measured the HR of 24 students (median age 14.0 years, IQR 2.0 years) during PE lessons. During the PE lessons, each student wore a Polar device on their chest and a Fizzo on their right wrist to measure HR data. At the end of the PE lessons, the students and their teachers completed a questionnaire where they assessed the feasibility of Fizzo. The measurements taken by the left wrist Fizzo and the right wrist Fizzo were compared to estimate reliability, while the Fizzo measurements were compared to the Polar measurements to estimate validity. To measure reliability, intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), mean difference (MD), standard error of measurement (SEM), and mean absolute percentage errors (MAPE) were used. To measure validity, ICC, limits of agreement (LOA), and MAPE were calculated and Bland-Altman plots were constructed. Percentage values were used to estimate the feasibility of Fizzo.

Results

The Fizzo showed excellent reliability and validity in the laboratory and moderate validity in a PE lesson setting. In Study 1, reliability was excellent (ICC>0.97; MD<0.7; SEM<0.56; MAPE<1.45%). The validity as determined by comparing the left wrist Fizzo and right wrist Fizzo was excellent (ICC>0.98; MAPE<1.85%). Bland-Altman plots showed a strong correlation between left wrist Fizzo measurements (bias=0.48, LOA=–3.94 to 4.89 beats per minute) and right wrist Fizzo measurements (bias=0.56, LOA=–4.60 to 5.72 beats per minute). In Study 2, the validity of the Fizzo was lower compared to that found in Study 1 but still moderate (ICC>0.70; MAPE<9.0%). The Fizzo showed broader LOA in the Bland-Altman plots during the PE lessons (bias=–2.60, LOA=–38.89 to 33.69 beats per minute). Most participants considered the Fizzo very comfortable and easy to put on. All teachers thought the Fizzo was helpful.

Conclusions

When participants ran on a treadmill in the laboratory, both left and right wrist Fizzo measurements were accurate. The validity of the Fizzo was lower in PE lessons but still reached a moderate level. The Fizzo is feasible for use during PE lessons.