Incorporating Wearable Technology for Enhanced Rehabilitation Monitoring After Hip and Knee Replacement

This study focuses on the impact of osteoarthritis (OA), a leading cause of disability among older adults, with the hip and knee joints being particularly affected. The rise in OA prevalence is attributed to factors such as aging and increasing obesity rates. Post-surgery rehabilitation, especially after total hip or knee replacement, traditionally relies on supervised clinical assessments, which have limitations in capturing real-world experiences. The study aims to explore the integration of technology-assisted rehabilitation, utilizing wearable sensors and mobile health technologies, for unsupervised, real-world assessments. The use of digital biomarkers collected from these technologies offers continuous, objective measurements of patients' biological and physiological data. The research employs a dataset from moveUP digital therapies, including patients who underwent total knee arthroplasty, utilizing a digital application for at least six weeks post-surgery. Key objectives include evaluating the potential of automated unsupervised assessments in providing a holistic understanding of patient progression during rehabilitation. The study utilizes mixed models for statistical analysis, examining outcomes such as steps per day, 6-minute walk test, and peak 1 minute. Results indicate differences in recovery trajectories between hip and knee patients, with variations based on gender and type of prosthesis.