Sensor-based systems for the measurement of Functional Reach Test results: a systematic review

Luís Francisco; João Duarte; António Nunes Godinho; Eftim Zdravevski; Carlos Albuquerque; Ivan Miguel Pires; Paulo Jorge Coelho

doi:10.7717/peerj-cs.1823

Sensor-based systems for the measurement of Functional Reach Test results: a systematic review

PeerJ Comput Sci. 2024 Mar 15:10:e1823. doi: 10.7717/peerj-cs.1823. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Luís Francisco¹, João Duarte¹, António Nunes Godinho², Eftim Zdravevski³, Carlos Albuquerque^{4

5

6}, Ivan Miguel Pires⁷, Paulo Jorge Coelho^{1

8}

Affiliations

¹ School of Technology and Management, Polytechnic University of Leiria, Leiria, Portugal.
² Coimbra Institute of Engineering, Polytechnic of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.
³ Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Sts. Cyril and Methodius, Skopje, North Macedonia.
⁴ Child Studies Research Center (CIEC), University of Minho, Braga, Portugal.
⁵ Higher School of Health, Polytechnic Institute of Viseu, Viseu, Portugal.
⁶ Nursing School of Coimbra (ESEnfC), Health Sciences Research Unit: Nursing (UICISA: E), Coimbra, Portugal.
⁷ Instituto de Telecomunicações, Escola Superior de Tecnologia e Gestão de Águeda, Universidade de Aveiro, Águeda, Portugal.
⁸ Institute for Systems Engineering and Computers at Coimbra (INESC Coimbra), Coimbra, Portugal.

Abstract

The measurement of Functional Reach Test (FRT) is a widely used assessment tool in various fields, including physical therapy, rehabilitation, and geriatrics. This test evaluates a person's balance, mobility, and functional ability to reach forward while maintaining stability. Recently, there has been a growing interest in utilizing sensor-based systems to objectively and accurately measure FRT results. This systematic review was performed in various scientific databases or publishers, including PubMed Central, IEEE Explore, Elsevier, Springer, the Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI), and the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), and considered studies published between January 2017 and October 2022, related to methods for the automation of the measurement of the Functional Reach Test variables and results with sensors. Camera-based devices and motion-based sensors are used for Functional Reach Tests, with statistical models extracting meaningful information. Sensor-based systems offer several advantages over traditional manual measurement techniques, as they can provide objective and precise measurements of the reach distance, quantify postural sway, and capture additional parameters related to the movement.

Keywords: Ambient Assisted Living; Functional Reach Test; Physical diseases; Sensors; Systematic Review; Technological devices.

Grants and funding

This work is funded by FCT/MEC through national funds and, when applicable, co-funded by the FEDER-PT2020 partnership agreement under the project UIDB/50008/2020. This work is also funded by FCT/MEC through national funds and co-funded by FEDER –PT2020 partnership agreement under the project UIDB/00308/2020 (DOI 10.54499/UIDB/00308/2020). This work is also funded by National Funds through the FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P., within the scope of the project UIDB/00742/2020. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.