The mHealth in the canine assisted therapy: the design and application of a kit for the wearable monitoring during a walking session

Abstract

Background: We are today assisting to an increasing interest to the animal assisted therapy (AAT). Among the goals of the AAT there is to improve a patient's psychological and physiological condition during the rehabilitation therapies. Several studies showed the health benefits (psychological and physiological) for the human subject thanks to the AAT. Today, according to the new central position of the pet, the approach must be revised in a more general and bidirectional approach embedding the assessment of the health benefits contemporary for the two actors, human and pet.Methods: Among the most commonly used types of AAT there is the canine assisted therapy (CAT).The study focused to the CAT and was dedicated to the design and validation of a wearable system for the assessment of physiological parameters during the walking of the two actors man and dog. A properly designed case-study involved a human (age 40; height 1.80 m; weight 80 kg) with three dogs with different sizes. It has been performed in a rectilinear walkway of 1 km of asphalt with 15 repetition with each one of the three different dogs at a speed typical for a walk. Results:The study showed a mean error ≤0.6% in the step counting. The study also showed: the feasibility to use parameters correlating the human and dog motion activity; a high acceptance of the methodology as assessed by 5 independent observers and an interesting perspectives for the future scenario of investigation of the medical scientific evidence of the approach based on the CAT.Conclusions: From a general point of view the work highlights the importance and the utility of the design and application of tool for the contemporary monitoring of the man and the dog during walking and other activities.

Pet Presence Can Reduce Anxiety in the Elderly: The Italian Experience during COVID-19 Lockdown Assessed by an Electronic Survey

“…Several studies have shown that pets are valid support during strong emotional stress [23][24][25][26]. However, it has been reported the importance of objectively quantifying such a positive pet-owner interaction [16,17] to overcome emotional distress [27]. The eS developed and presented herein has been promptly submitted through modern communication Apps, to 4993 subjects, receiving almost all responses within 6 days.…”

“…The mechanism which explains the positive effect of the owner-pet interaction is currently under study; however, some studies suggested that these positive effects can depend on (a) the encouragement to do physical activity while walking the dog and (b) the co-presence of a pet [14,16,17].…”

A Remote Assessment of Anxiety on Young People: Towards Their Views and Their Different Pet Interaction

“…Other studies have highlighted the need to quantify this mitigating effect through specific procedures, complaining that the positive impact of companion animals is difficult to calculate, even if it is a simple co-presence [ 25 , 26 ]. Another study highlighted a new way of applying the AAT [ 27 ]. We are today, in fact, assisting to an increasing interest in both animal-assisted therapy (AAT) and the pet quality of life and health.…”

“…The increasing interest in the pet quality of life and health is a direct consequence of the recognition of its contribution to the society. Today, according to the new central position of the pet, the approach must be revised in a more general and bidirectional approach embedding the assessment of the health benefits contemporary for the two actors, human and pet [ 25 , 27 ].…”