Researchers have developed the Pittsburgh Performance Fatigability Index (PPFI), an objective and novel approach for measuring performance fatigability in older adults (aged 60+). PPFI marks the first time that performance fatigability is derived from wrist-worn raw accelerometry data. Performance fatigability is quantified as decline in velocity or decrement in performance during a physical task (primarily walking-based). With advances in technology and statistical methods, it is now possible to extract objective and detailed features of walking patterns from wearable devices. PPFI quantifies percentage of cadence decline during a fast- or usual-paced 400m walk from participants’ own maximal cadence as if in the absence of fatigability.
Description
Using tri-axial raw accelerations from wrist-worn accelerometers, PPFI quantifies the percentage of cadence decline during an in-lab walking task. The index looks at cadence-versus-time trajectory during a 400m walk to a hypothetical area that would be produced if the participant sustained maximal cadence throughout the entire walk.
This is the first time that performance fatigability is derived from raw accelerometry measures. It is a novel approach. Existing measure of performance fatigability have methodological weaknesses including 1) relying on the assumption that older adults’ walking speeds decline linearly and consistently during the physical task, 2) only utilizing snapshot of information (e.g., lap intervals and gait speed) to characterize performance, which might not be sensitive enough to detect granular-level slowing down, and 3) lacking comparability across different walking tasks.
Applications
• Older adults (60+)
Advantages
• First performance fatigability derived from raw accelerometry data
• Free from methodological weaknesses of existing tests
Invention Readiness
Prototype
IP Status
https://patents.google.com/patent/WO2023154374A1
