Periphere arterielle Verschlusskrankheit und Wearables

Exercise in the form of supervised walking training for intermittent claudication has the same effect as endovascular or open surgical treatment. A comprehensive offer for structured walking training in Germany in the form of walking training groups is currently not available.

The aim of this work is therefore to check whether supervised walking training can be implemented in the form of a digital health application in order to close the gap in the treatment options.

Wearables are computer devices that are worn directly on the body and have various sensors. Heart rate, oxygen saturation, step length and number, and walking/running distance can easily be measured using the sensors and evaluated via a smartphone application (app). Various health insurance companies offer bonuses through more exercise with their own apps. The applications mentioned cannot be prescribed and a medical benefit is not verified. Mobile health, on the other hand, refers to support in the prevention, diagnostics and treatment of diseases using smartphones and wearables. In this context, so-called digital health applications (DiGA) were introduced in Germany. There are currently three internationally known approaches to treat claudication patients with the help of an app; however, such apps cannot yet be implemented in a clinical setting and many questions remain unanswered (reproducibility, compliance, data protection). Looking into the near future and with advancing digitalization, a claudication app certainly has the potential to support and relieve us in the treatment of patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD).