Performance comparison of smartphones and a wearable motion sensor for patient m-assessment

Wearable motion sensors are successfully used for human gait and mobility analysis. They are based on inertial measurement units (IMUs) that can successfully replace 3D camera systems and be used outside clinical environments for patient teleassessment. Modern smartphones with increasing computational power include IMUs similar to ones available in the professional clinical motion sensors. That raises a question whether a conventional smartphone can be used for clinical grade body motion analysis instead of dedicated wearable sensors. This article compares the motion measurement accuracy of two conventional smartphones (Samsung S8 Edge and iPhone 6) and a dedicated wearable sensor used in previous clinical trials. Performance analysis towards two specific clinical tests - Romberg and range of motion (ROM) test were conducted.