Smartphone applications versus a traditional goniometer

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Are smartphone applications as equally accurate as a traditional goniometer for assessing the contracture angle of finger joints in patients with Dupuytren’s disease?

• IRAS ID

  253573

• Contact name

  Henry O'Brien

• Contact email

  henry.o'brien1@nhs.net

• Sponsor organisation

  The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust

• Duration of Study in the UK

  years, 4 months, days

• Research summary

  Introduction
  The range of motion (ROM) of a joint is traditionally measured with a goniometer and this is the current gold standard. Dupuytren’s disease results in deformity of the fingers and goniometers can be used to assess and monitor this. Some smartphone goniometer applications function by using the accelerometer of the phone to determine ROM. At present there is limited data published on the use of smartphone goniometer applications use in measuring ROM of hands.

  Aims
  To compare traditional goniometer measurements of the finger joints versus smartphone application. For this research we will be using the App Measure - which is a generic measurement app for the Apple iPhone. We will use this accelerometer to determine the reliability and accuracy of the application in a group of patients with Dupuytren’s disease.

  Methods/Design
  Ethical approval will be sought as per the trust and NHS procedures. A power calculation will be performed to identify the number of patients required. Patients identified with Dupuytren’s disease listed for surgery will be invited to participate. Informed patient consent will be obtained using a specific consent form for this study.
  The ring and little fingers of patients with Dupuytren’s contracture will be assessed using a traditional goniometer and the Apple iPhone application “Measure”. The angle of contracture will be obtained from the following joints; metacarpophalangeal, proximal interphalangeal, and distal interphalangeal.
  The traditional goniometer will measure the angle of contracture once and the smartphone goniometer application will measure the angle three times for each angle measured.
  The application has been chosen because it is available on the iPhone as standard.

  Expected outcomes
  The application is expected to be as equally accurate as the traditional goniometer which will be confirmed with appropriate statistical analysis of the results.

• REC name

  West of Scotland REC 3

• REC reference

  19/WS/0011

• Date of REC Opinion

  30 Jan 2019

• REC opinion

  Favourable Opinion