Novel Technology to Capture Objective Data from Patients’ Recovery from Laparoscopic Endometriosis Surgery

Abstract

Study Objective: To assess the feasibility of a noncontact radio sensor as an objective measurement tool to study postoperative recovery from endometriosis surgery. Design: Prospective cohort pilot study. Setting: Center for minimally invasive gynecologic surgery at an academically affiliated community hospital in conjunction with in-home monitoring. Patients: Patients aged above 18 years who sleep independently and were scheduled to have laparoscopy for the diagnosis and treatment of suspected endometriosis. Interventions: A wireless, noncontact sensor, Emerald, was installed in the subjects' home and used to capture physiologic signals without body contact. The device captured objective data about the patients' movement and sleep in their home for 5 weeks before surgery and approximately 5 weeks postoperatively. The subjects were concurrently asked to complete a daily pain assessment using a numeric rating scale and a free text survey about their daily symptoms. Measurements and Main Results: Three women aged 23 years to 39 years and with mild to moderate endometriosis participated in the study. Emerald-derived sleep and wake times were contextualized and corroborated by select participant comments from retrospective surveys. In addition, self-reported pain levels and 1 sleep variable, sleep onset to deep sleep time, showed a significant (p <.01), positive correlation with next-day−pain scores in all 3 subjects: r = 0.45, 0.50, and 0.55. In other words, the longer it took the subject to go from sleep onset to deep sleep, the higher their pain score the following day. Conclusion: A patient's experience with pain is challenging to meaningfully quantify. This study highlights Emerald's unique ability to capture objective data in both preoperative functioning and postoperative recovery in an endometriosis population. The utility of this uniquely objective data for the clinician-patient relationship is just beginning to be explored.

Monitoring gait at home with radio waves in Parkinson’s disease: A marker of severity, progression, and medication response

“…The same radio device was used to detect errors in medication self-administration ( 71 ) and monitor patients with Alzheimer’s disease ( 72 ), endometriosis ( 73 ), COVID-19 ( 74 ), and facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) ( 75 ). Also, we have explored the use of the device with individuals with PD in a small pilot study focused on sleep and daily activities ( 76 ).…”

An Inclusive Survey of Contactless Wireless Sensing: A Technology Used for Remotely Monitoring Vital Signs Has the Potential to Combating COVID-19

“…This study has also shown that contantless sensors have great potential to revolutionise human vital sign detection and monitoring. The study has demonstrated that contactless sensing technology can be used to limit contact between patients, [37] Surgery recovery (endometriosis) FMCW Not specified [38] Head position FMCW Not specified BodyCompass [41] Sleep position FMCW 5.4 GHz -7.2 GHz Emirald [39] Pacing FMCW Not specified [42] PD FMCW Not specified [40] Human Figure FMCW 5.46 -7.24 [34] Respiratory rate and heartbeat FMCW 5.8 [35] Respiration rate FMCW 5.8 [17] Human activity (sitting standing) CSI 2.4…”

“…According to the authors, results indicate that there is a relationship between time to exit bed and CSS. 13) Authors in [37] also used Emerald to monitor postoperative recovery process for patients recovering from endometriosis surgery. The study was conducted on three women where the device was placed on each of their homes to study the patients movement and sleep for five weeks before surgery and five weeks after surgery.…”

Symptom tracking in endometriosis using digital technologies: Knowns, unknowns, and future prospects

“…One self-tracking app for recording cannabis use has also been used to explore intervention effects in a subset of participants with endometriosis. 59 Lastly, a small pilot study of patients with endometriosis (N = 3) explored sleep changes before and after laparoscopic surgery using a non-contact sensor installed at home, 60 which may be an alternative way of collecting data from patients and of overcoming barriers with self-reports or the use of digital technologies that might be challenging for some participants to use (e.g., post-operatively).…”