Using mHealth Technology to Monitor Arm-Use Behavior, Gait, and Physical Activity in Stroke Survivors

This chapter advocates for the deployment of monitoring devices to assess the movement behaviors and physical activity of individuals recovering from stroke. The proposed approached encompasses the utilization of these devices in diverse settings, as laboratory and natural environments, and different stages of the recovery trajectory after stroke. This multifaceted monitoring strategy aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the dynamic and evolving nature of movement patterns throughout the recovery journey, offering insights for personalized and effective rehabilitation interventions. Mobile health (mHealth) refers to the use of technologies (i.e., mobile phones, personal digital assistants, wearable sensors) to provide health care services and information. Digital technologies like mHealth have the potential to revolutionize the interactions among populations and national health services. MHealth technologies (i.e., smartphones, mobile programs, and smartwatches) are available to monitor and encourage health-promoting behaviors that may reduce disability in stroke survivors and provide useful information about functional behaviors, physical activity levels, and metrics of intensity, and have the potential to increase awareness about human–environment interactions and encourage health-promoting behavior. The use of mHealth technology emerges as a good possibility to define each intensity category. As a result, a variety of devices can be used to monitor the use of more affected limb in daily-life activity, to monitor the different levels of physical activity, energy expenditure, sedentary behavior, and parameters of gait.