Validation of a new iPhone application for measurements of wrist velocity during actual work tasks

Abstract: The breakthrough in mobile technology and the development of smartphones, supplied with sensing devices such as Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs), has made it possible to obtain accurate and reliable data on the angular velocity for different objects. The available technical sensors for wrist movements, such as electrogoniometers, are costly, time-consuming, and need a particular computer program to be analyzed. Therefore, there is a need to develop user-friendly risk assessment methods for wrist angular velocity measurements. This master thesis aimed to validate the accuracy of a newly developed iPhone application (App), "ErgoHandMeter," for wrist velocity in actual work tasks, by comparing the “ErgoHandMeter” to standard electrogoniometers. The project study was performed with four participants, two females and two males, from three jobs performing actual work tasks. The total angular velocity obtained by the mobile application was compared with the angular velocity data from the standard electrogoniometer. The total angular velocities obtained from the smartphone and the goniometer were computed at the 10th, 50th and 90th percentile for the four subjects. The 50th percentile of goniometer-flexion velocity (G-flex) was 7.4 ± 5.4°/s, for the goniometer-total (G-tot) 8.7 ± 6.5)°/s and for App 7.2 ± 4.9°/s. The correlation coefficient for the 50th percentile of goniometer-flexion (G-flex) parameter and smartphone application was 0.994. For the goniometer-total (G-tot) and the application, it was 0.993. In a Bland-Altman plot the mean difference between G-flex and App for the 50th percentile was -0.18 °/s and for G-tot and App was -1.54 °/s, i.e. the App was lower in average. The limit of the agreement between G-Flex and App, and G-tot and App stayed within two standard deviations. For G-Flex and App (mean+1.96SD) was 1.34 °/s, (mean-1.96SD) was -1.71 °/s, while for G-tot and App (mean+1.96SD) was 1.89 °/s, (mean-1.96SD) was -4.96 °/s, indicating an adequate agreement between the two methods. A limitation was that the included occupations were all relatively low velocity. However, in conclusion, the results indicate that the two methods agree adequately and can be used interchangeably.