Survey shows that smartphone technology is the most broadly distributed wearable system to measure general patient activity.

Reliably monitoring physical function is tremendously valuable in returning orthopedic trauma patients to pre-injury activity levels. Noting the rise in the use of wearable technology, AO Technical Commission's Smart Digital Solutions Task Force (SDSTF) conducted a cross-sectional expert opinion survey asking AO Trauma members about their current and anticipated uses. The study, now published in a leading trauma journal, Injury, successfully demonstrated that wearable technology is an area of interest in the orthopedic trauma community. The survey’s three best-represented countries were the United States, Germany, and India; however, surgeons from across the globe participated. 

Most valuable, most used, and most wanted wearable technologies
Just over one-fifth of respondents already used wearable systems as part of their clinical work. The most-used technology were smartphones, which allow physicians to measure a broad spectrum of outcomes. In descending order, the three technologies considered most valuable were smartphones, pressure sensors, and accelerometers. The most-wanted outcome parameters were measures of general patient activity, kinematic and kinetic gait parameters, as well as general gait analysis. 

Research vs. clinical practice gap
Interestingly, the survey results highlighted a reversal of the normal gap between research and clinical practice: