Design Criteria

Automated Motion Detection

Although continuous recordings of motion and muscle activity can manually segmented, this may be tedious and unreliable if left up to human judgement. Therefore, automatic detection of threshold signals should be in place in these devices [22]. This will make it easier for the individual and healthcare professional to see meaningful data from the device to develop and adequate care plan [23]. The system should distinguish the different between well and poor movements or executed tasks and then numerically quantify such (ex. a scale) [24].

Battery Life

Prolonged usage of the device and taking long recordings of motions for treatment information shouldn’t conflict with the performance of the device [22].

Unobtrusive

Motion sensor devices should be flexible and unobtrusive, meaning it does not interfere with daily activities. Excessive wiring is often an issue towards the practicality of these devices [22].

Example of design criteria in use in the SyMPATHy cup (Fig. 19) to monitor arm and hand activity:

Easy to incorporate into daily life; Gripping facility for easy handling; Asked therapists if continuous or discrete feedback on liquid level was wanted [23].

Figure 19. Picture of the SyMPATHy cup [23].

 

Proposed criteria for post-stroke systems outcome measures [24]. 

Figure 20. Criteria for automated detection [24].

Design Limitations

Cost: the affordability of the device is questionable since it involves a lot of research, materials, and advanced technology.  

Clinical trials: it could be difficult to find test subjects. 

Wiring and Electricity: excessive wiring could be dangerous to the patient. 

Insufficient knowledge of the neurophysiological mechanisms: advanced knowledge of brain/ knowledge plasticity is needed to understand the interactions between neurons that leads to natural healing and movements in order to restore optimum function of the human body [25].