Speaker: Dane Jensen Brodke, MD, Assistant Professor, Oregon Health & Science University
Dane Jensen Brodke, MD: Hi, I'm Dame Brodkey. I'm an orthopaedic trauma surgeon at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Oregon.
Study Introduction & Objectives
Dane Jensen Brodke, MD: The purpose of this research is to evaluate a new way to measure functional outcomes in orthopaedic surgery, which is to use smartphone mobility metrics that are passively recorded in the background, such as Apple Health, in order to both learn what patients' baseline mobility is and baseline function and learn in a more objective longitudinal manner than we otherwise can. What patients' post-injury and postoperative functional recovery looks like.
Key Takeaways & Discussion Points
Dane Jensen Brodke, MD: We found that Apple Health metrics, especially step count, seemed to track pretty closely and mirror what we see clinically with patients who have lower extremity fractures. And so in patients with lower extremity fractures, they undergo a decline in their, mobility and their physical function as a result of a severe injury. Having surgery and going
Dane Jensen Brodke, MD: Having surgery and going through a rehabilitation period, their mobility slowly improves and that's what we see clinically and the Apple Health metrics captured that very nicely, both the decline in mobility with injury and the slow improvement in mobility, over 6 months or longer with recovery.
Impact on Patient Care
Dane Jensen Brodke, MD: We showed that Apple Health step counts, actually predict, patients that will get non-union and so patients who are having a slower step count recovery, end up being more likely to get a non-union and need non-union surgery than patients who are having a faster step count recovery. and so in addition to having potentially new outcome metric in the form of Apple health measures, and smartphone mobility metrics in general, we may actually be able to guide treatment, using these new outcome measures.
