Spinal Balance with Wearables - Cohort

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    Measuring Dynamic Spinal Balance with wearable activity trackers. A Cohort study.

  • IRAS ID

    282305

  • Contact name

    Julian J H Leong

  • Contact email

    julian@leong.org.uk

  • Sponsor organisation

    University College London

  • Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier

    Z6364106/2021/11/48, UCL Data Protection Registration

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    0 years, 5 months, 30 days

  • Research summary

    Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS) is typically diagnosed between 10-18 years. Due to the progressive and variable nature of AIS, patients will be clinically and radiographically assessed multiple times per year throughout their adolescence so that progression of the curve can be monitored, treatment decisions can be made and response to treatment or recovery from surgery can be observed. Patient monitoring such as this requires a child to take a lot of time out of school, and evidence suggests an increased lifetime risk of cancer, likely related to the abundance of radiographs taken during a rapid growth phase. A wearable device for use by patients with AIS would help provide additional objective data for the consultant and patient care team. Most notably, it would provide data from a real-life environment over a larger, continuous period, rather than data constrained by the intervals of standard care. If the wearable is accurate and reliable it could provide data from afar, decreasing the number of hospital visits and/or radiographs required.

    This study will focus on patients with AIS. Their balance will be measured using a gait laboratory and wearable device to assess the clinical usefulness of the measure.

    Patients with AIS are eligible for this study.

    The study will be conducted at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital.

    The study will run for approximately 6 months. Participants who have been prescribed a brace to treat AIS will have their balance measured at 2 time points; (1) at baseline prior to brace fitting, and (2) 1 week - 3 months after brace fitting in their brace. At data collection appointments participants will perform a series of walking tasks in a gait laboratory and whilst wearing a CE-marked wearable device.

  • REC name

    East Midlands - Nottingham 1 Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    22/EM/0173

  • Date of REC Opinion

    28 Sep 2022

  • REC opinion

    Further Information Favourable Opinion