Telerehabilitation with ARC Intellicare to Cope with Motor and Respiratory Disabilities: Results About the Process, Usability, and Clinical Effect of the "Ricominciare" Pilot Study

Overview

Journal Sensors (Basel)

Publisher MDPI

Specialty Biotechnology

Date 2023 Aug 26

PMID 37631774

Authors

Marianna Capecci

Rossella Cima

Filippo A Barbini

Alice Mantoan

Francesca Sernissi

Stefano Lai

Riccardo Fava

Luca Tagliapietra

Luca Ascari

Roberto N Izzo

Maria Eleonora Leombruni

Paola Casoli

Margherita Hibel

Maria Gabriella Ceravolo

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: "Ricominciare" is a single-center, prospective, pre-/post-intervention pilot study aimed at verifying the feasibility and safety of the ARC Intellicare (ARC) system (an artificial intelligence-powered and inertial motion unit-based mobile platform) in the home rehabilitation of people with disabilities due to respiratory or neurological diseases.

Methods: People with Parkinson's disease (pwPD) or post-COVID-19 condition (COV19) and an indication for exercise or home rehabilitation to optimize motor and respiratory function were enrolled. They underwent training for ARC usage and received an ARC unit to be used independently at home for 4 weeks, for 45 min 5 days/week sessions of respiratory and motor patient-tailored rehabilitation. ARC allows for exercise monitoring thanks to data from five IMU sensors, processed by an AI proprietary library to provide (i) patients with real-time feedback and (ii) therapists with information on patient adherence to the prescribed therapy. Usability (System Usability Scale, SUS), adherence, and adverse events were primary study outcomes. Modified Barthel Index (mBI), Barthel Dyspnea Index (BaDI), 2-Minute Walking Test (2MWT), Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI), Beck Depression or Anxiety Inventory (BDI, BAI), and quality of life (EQ-5D) were also monitored pre- and post-treatment.

Results: A total of 21 out of 23 eligible patients were enrolled and completed the study: 11 COV19 and 10 pwPD. The mean total SUS score was 77/100. The median patients' adherence to exercise prescriptions was 80%. Clinical outcome measures (BaDI, 2MWT distance, BFI; BAI, BDI, and EQ-5D) improved significantly; no side effects were reported.

Conclusion: ARC is usable and safe for home rehabilitation. Preliminary data suggest promising results on the effectiveness in subjects with post-COVID condition or Parkinson's disease.

Citing Articles

Digital approaches in post-COVID healthcare: a systematic review of technological innovations in disease management.

Mfouth Kemajou P, Mbanya A, Coppieters Y Biol Methods Protoc. 2024; 9(1):bpae070.

PMID: 39440031 PMC: 11495871. DOI: 10.1093/biomethods/bpae070.

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