Remote assessment of finger joint range of motion: Validation of virtual techniques
Abstract
Small joint range of motion (ROM) in the hand, traditionally measured in-person using a goniometer, is essential for diagnosis and monitoring of hand pathology. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the potential of remote care in mitigating geographic and socio-economic barriers to care. There is, however, an unmet need for validated and practical remote small joint ROM measurement techniques.
This thesis aimed to validate the reliability and concurrent validity of two remote measurement techniques: firstly, on-screen ROM measurement using a goniometer held up to a computer screen; secondly, a novel augmented reality (AR) web-application (DIGITS). Both techniques demonstrated high reliability and reasonable concurrent validity relative to in-person goniometry, the gold standard.
Their high reliability makes these techniques amenable to use in virtual clinics, particularly for monitoring of changes in digit ROM over time. Additionally, this work lays a foundation for further software development of AR-based measurement tools and validation in clinical populations.