Reliability of a Smartphone Compared With an Inertial Sensor to Measure Shoulder Mobility: Cross-Sectional Study

Background The shoulder is one of the joints with the greatest mobility within the human body and its evaluation is complex. An assessment can be conducted using questionnaires or functional tests, and goniometry can complement the information obtained in this assessment. However, there are now validated devices that can provide more information on the realization of movement, such as inertial sensors. The cost of these devices is usually high and they are not available to all clinicians, but there are also inertial sensors that are implemented in mobile phones which are cheaper and widely available. Results from the inertial sensors integrated into mobile devices can have the same reliability as those from dedicated sensors. Objective This study aimed to validate the use of the Nexus 4 smartphone as a measuring tool for the mobility of the humerus during shoulder movement compared with a dedicated InertiaCube3 (Intersense) sensor. Methods A total of 43 subjects, 27 affected by shoulder pathologies and 16 asymptomatic, participated in the study. Shoulder flexion, abduction, and scaption were measured using an InertiaCube3 and a Nexus 4 smartphone, which were attached to the participants to record the results simultaneously. The interclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was calculated based on the 3 movements performed. Results The smartphone reliably recorded the velocity values and simultaneously recorded them alongside the inertial sensor. The ICCs of the 3 gestures and for each of the axes of movement were analyzed with a 95% CI. In the abduction movement, the devices demonstrated excellent interclass reliability for the abduction humeral movement axis (Cronbach alpha=.98). The axis of abduction of the humeral showed excellent reliability for the movements of flexion (Cronbach alpha=.93) and scaption (Cronbach alpha=.98). Conclusions Compared with the InertiaCube3, the Nexus 4 smartphone is a reliable and valid tool for recording the velocity produced in the shoulder.

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