Using home sensing technology to assess outcome and recovery after hip and knee replacement in the UK: the HEmiSPHERE study protocol

Abstract

IntroductionOver 160 000 people with severe hip or knee pain caused by osteoarthritis undergo total hip (THR) or knee replacement (TKR) surgery each year in the UK within the National Health Service (NHS), and this number is expected to increase. Innovative approaches to evaluating surgical outcomes will be needed to respond to the increasing burden of joint replacement surgery. The Sensor Platform for Healthcare in a Residential Environment, Interdisciplinary Research Collaboration (SPHERE-IRC) have developed a system of sensors that can monitor the health-related behaviours of people living at home. The system includes sensors for the home environment (measuring temperature, humidity, room occupancy, water and electricity usage), a wristband body-worn activity monitor and silhouette (body outline) sensors. The aim of HEmiSPHERE (Hip and knEe study of a Sensor Platform of HEalthcare in a Residential Environment) is to (1) determine the accuracy and feasibility of the sensory data as it compares with conventional assessment of health outcomes after surgery using patient self-reported questionnaires, and (2) to explore how the SPHERE system is useful for everyday clinical decision-making.Methods and analysisA feasibility study recruiting and installing the SPHERE system in the homes of up to 30 NHS adult patients as they undergo a THR or TKR. Through a mixed-methods design, the SPHERE system will monitor and record continuous measurements of daily behaviour. Main outcomes will assess the relationships between environmental, behavioural and movement data and the parameters of interest from the standard clinical assessments measuring patient outcomes over time. Patient interviews and focus groups with consultant orthopaedic surgeons will provide in-depth understanding of the acceptability, feasibility and accuracy of the data.Ethics and disseminationWe aim to disseminate the findings through regional talks and seminars, international conferences and peer-reviewed journals and social media.

Modelling Patient Behaviour Using IoT Sensor Data: a Case Study to Evaluate Techniques for Modelling Domestic Behaviour in Recovery from Total Hip Replacement Surgery

“…The data used in this study has been collected as part of the SPHERE [35,36] and HEmiSphere [12] projects. Ethical approval for HEmiSPHERE was granted on 22/06/2017, 17/SW/0121.…”

“…In this paper, we introduce two cases from the HEmiSPHERE study [12], the first clinical application of the SPHERE IoT sensor network [10,36]. This paper presents an initial analysis of long-term observational data from three participant homes (Section 4) to evaluate whether IoT sensor data can be used to produce informative trends of patient behaviour during recovery from total hip replacement surgery, using statistical analysis and machine learning techniques.…”

Person Re-ID by Fusion of Video Silhouettes and Wearable Signals for Home Monitoring Applications

“…This problem is of critical importance for scenarios of home monitoring, particularly in long-term observations. For example, in the HEmiSPHERE project [14], patients undergoing hip and knee replacement spend their rehabilitation period at home while being monitored with the SPHERE sensors. It is essential to be able to automatically discriminate between the silhouettes of the patient to be monitored and the rest of the household or occasional guests such that clinicians can investigate the recovery trends of their patient only, while also respecting the privacy of all those within view.…”

Electricity use is associated with residents’ vital data and lifestyles: observational study using an IT health support system in Japan

“…The time when elderly people begin watching television appears to be useful in diagnosing poor health 11 . Home sensing technology, including electricity use, has been applied to assess health outcomes and recovery following hip and knee replacement in the United Kingdom 12 . Thus, we considered that the amount of domestic electricity use would be related to residents’ vital data and lifestyles.…”