What we do
About our project
Definition
Physical behaviour can be defined as “what people physically do in their daily life”. It is an umbrella construct and includes, for example, physical activity, body postures and movements, arm use, sedentary behaviour and sleep.
Motivation
Physical behaviour is often affected in people with chronic conditions, such as stroke and spinal cord injury. This is related to poor fitness and health, fatigue, pain, and lower levels of functioning, participation and quality of life. Therefore, understanding and improving patients’ physical behaviour is crucial within rehabilitation. For this, objective, feasible and valid measurements are needed.
Solution
Technology (e.g. wearables, such as accelerometers) offers the opportunity to measure physical behaviour in a feasible and valid way, by prolonged unsupervised measurements during daily life of people. Data from these measurements can be used for diagnosis, optimizing or tailoring treatment, monitoring progress and recovery, evaluating treatment, and for being part of treatment by providing direct feedback.
Our research focus
Instrument development and validation
For measurement of physical behaviour in people with chronic conditions, available devices don’t measure the physical behaviour components of interest (e.g. wheelchair use), aren’t tested or validated for these groups (e.g. because of their different movement patterns), and/or aren’t feasible for clinical application. Therefore, our research includes development and validation of objective measurement and feedback devices. Examples of this are posture and motion monitors, a wheelchair monitor, and an upper limb use monitor for stroke patients.
Physical behaviour evaluation
It is increasingly recognized – also from own research - that physical behaviour outcomes are relevant in evaluating treatment. This treatment can specifically focus on rehabilitation and physical behaviour (e.g. lifestyle programs), but is also of added value for other medical specialties (e.g. neurology, orthopedics) and types of interventions (e.g. surgery, drugs).
Translational research
Our research is translational. At the one end of the spectrum it aims at determining the most valid and relevant outcomes of physical behaviour, at studying its determinants, and at understanding the relationships with other domains of functioning. At the other end of the spectrum, research has a strong focus on the application in clinical practice. Another part of being translational is the focus on the simultaneous ambulatory measurement of other signals - such as heart rate – and the use of electronic diaries.
Collaborations
Internal collaborations
ACEs: BrainMotion; Obesity
Physical Activity Community Erasmus MC (PACE)
Departments: Obesity Center, Orthopedics, Psychology, Public Health
External collaborations
Rijndam Rehabilitation Center & Libra Revalidatie & Audiologie
IMDI NeuroControl NeuroControl: a close collaboration between the TU Delft, Utwente, VUMC, VU, Radboudumc, LUMC, ErasmusMC, several companies, rehabilitation centres and other institutions and patient unions.
