Presented at the 2013 AAPM Annual Meeting « Back

Automatic and Objective Assessment of Patient Activity Using the Monitoring Capabilities of an Implantable Neurostimulator

Mark Sun, PhD, mark.sun@medtronic.com¹, Ye Tan, MS¹, Maria Breitenfeldt, PhD¹, (1) Medtronic, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota

Introduction: Physical inactivity has a negative effect on mood, perception of the severity of pain, and quality of life in chronic pain patients. Self-reports are subject to bias while clinical tests may not reflect everyday life. The RestoreSensor neurostimulator (Medtronic, Inc., Minneapolis, MN) contains a 3D accelerometer which automatically collects information on patient position and activity. We report on the utility and potential benefit of the objective activity data. Methods: The average amount of time the patient spends per day in the lying, upright, mobile, and transition positions is reported in the AdaptiveStim Diary Position Trend as a 24-hour percent average during the time period between programming sessions (Figure 1). The report can be downloaded and printed or stored in the patient’s electronic medical record (Figure 2). Results: The AdaptiveStim Diary Position Trend provides a convenient method to monitor and track a patient’s physical activities. The time a patient spends in specific positions and the variability between follow-up visits can be assessed. Patient-reported functional changes and device-reported activity data can also be compared which may aid clinicians in optimizing therapy settings and measuring therapy outcomes. The data may be used to help tailor a rehabilitation plan, and gauge compliance and progress in achieving functional goals. Conclusions: Use of objective patient activity data in a neurostimulator is the first step in the application of remotely supervised rehabilitation of chronic pain patients. Further study is warranted to investigate potential uses of objective patient activity data.

Funding: Development of the position-adaptive spinal cord stimulation technology and patient activity diary described in the abstract were funded by Medtronic, Inc.

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