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Department of Medicine

STTR: BandPass

Project: STTR: BandPass: A Remote Monitoring System for Sarcopenia and Functional Decline

Grant Number: National Institute on Aging R41-AG071290

Sarcopenia represents a significant and growing clinical challenge for older adults, placing persons at increased risk for functional decline, institutionalization, or death. Resistance-based exercises promote muscle regeneration and strength and are an advised therapy for such patients. Yet, a clinician’s ability to quantitatively assess at-home compliance remains challenging. As older adults’ use of technology grows, using remote monitoring systems that measure, track, analyze, and provide patient-oriented feedback may overcome these limitations and enhance exercise regimen engagement.

This study aims to conduct a usability study that evaluates the acceptability and usability for an at-home remote-sensing, bluetooth-enabled resistance exercise band, the BandPass. The BandPass device will monitor and transmit exercise data to the user and clinician to aid in compliance. If successful, routine integration of systems into therapeutic programs can partially substitute in-person oversight, not only to lower costs, but to overcome transportation and geographic care barriers to access services.

Key Collaborators

Ryan Halter, Suehayla Mohielden, Curtis L. Petersen, Colin Minor

Key Papers

  1. Petersen CL, Minor CM, Mohielden S, Park LG, Halter RJ, Batsis JA. Remote Rehabilitation: A Field-Based Usability Study of an mHealth Resistance Exercise Band. 2020 IEEE/ACM International Conference on Connected Health: Applications, Systems and Engineering Technologies (CHASE), 2020, pp. 5-6, doi: 10.1145/3384420.3431773.

  2. Petersen CL, Halter R, Kotz D, Loeb L, Cook S, Pidgeon D, Christensen BC, Batsis JA. Using Natural Language Processing and Sentiment Analysis to Augment Traditional User-Centered Design: Development and Usability Study. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2020 Aug 7;8(8):e16862. Epub 2020/06/17. doi: 10.2196/16862. PubMed PMID: 32540843.

  3. Batsis JA, Boateng GG, Seo LM, Petersen CL, Fortuna KL, Wechsler EV, Peterson RJ, Cook SB, Pidgeon D, Dokko RS, Halter RJ, Kotz DF. Development and Usability Assessment of a Connected Resistance Exercise Band Application for Strength-Monitoring. World Acad Sci Eng Technol. 2019;13(5):340-8. Epub 2019/06/18. doi: 10.5281/zenodo. PubMed PMID: 31205628; PubMed Central PMCID: PMCPMC6570823.

  4. Petersen CL, Wechsler EV, Halter RJ, Boateng GG, Proctor PO, Kotz DF, Cook SB, Batsis JA. Detection and Monitoring of Repetitions Using an mHealth-Enabled Resistance Band. IEEE Int Conf Connect Health Appl Syst Eng Technol. 2018 Sep;2018:22-4. Epub 2019/04/16. PubMed PMID: 30984918; PubMed Central PMCID: PMCPMC6456081.

  5. Wechsler EV, Batsis JA, Kotz DF, Skinner J, Zagaria AB, Peterson RA, Cook SB, Bartels SJ, Halter RJ. Development of a “Smart” TheraBand to Assess Strength. Abstract D76. J Am Geriatric Soc 2017; 65(S1): S218.