Minimal Sensor Configuration for Human Activity Recognition in Patients With Hip Osteoarthritis : Proof-of-Concept Study

Article Article scientifique Article Minimal Sensor Configuration for Human Activity Recognition in Patients With Hip Osteoarthritis : Proof-of-Concept Study eng 2026-09-16 author Al Alem Noor 0009-0003-7570-0466 Kinesiology Laboratory, Geneva University Hospitals and University of Geneva, Rue michel servet 1, Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland, 41 782571877.,Centre of Research on Skeletal Muscle and Movement, University of Geneva and Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland. 402507 Département de chirurgie (CHIRU) author Duay Valérie 0009-0003-8042-3408 HEPIA - HES-SO University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland, Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland. author Di Benedetto Angelo 0009-0004-9649-3889 HEPIA - HES-SO University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland, Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland. author Rose-Dulcina Kevin 0000-0002-8698-3268 Kinesiology Laboratory, Geneva University Hospitals and University of Geneva, Rue michel servet 1, Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland, 41 782571877.,Centre of Research on Skeletal Muscle and Movement, University of Geneva and Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland.,Division of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Geneva University Hospitals, Faculty of Medicine, Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland. 833620 author Hannouche Didier 0000-0003-2060-2394 Division of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Geneva University Hospitals, Faculty of Medicine, Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland. 842478 Département de chirurgie (CHIRU) author Armand Stéphane 0000-0001-9144-4982 Kinesiology Laboratory, Geneva University Hospitals and University of Geneva, Rue michel servet 1, Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland, 41 782571877.,Centre of Research on Skeletal Muscle and Movement, University of Geneva and Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland. 636265 Département de chirurgie (CHIRU) author Gasparutto Xavier 0000-0001-8617-6522 Kinesiology Laboratory, Geneva University Hospitals and University of Geneva, Rue michel servet 1, Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland, 41 782571877.,Centre of Research on Skeletal Muscle and Movement, University of Geneva and Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland.,Division of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Geneva University Hospitals, Faculty of Medicine, Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland. 891356 e95116 10.2196/95116 42748053 2561-3278 PMC13580699 https://biomedeng.jmir.org/2026/1/e95116 Background: Hip osteoarthritis (OA) impairs function during activities of daily living (ADL); however, objective functional assessment methods are lacking. Objectively measuring and characterizing functional deficits during ADL can help rehabilitation specialists target the activities in which patients experience the greatest difficulties. To characterize daily living function, ADL must first be accurately identified. Human activity recognition (HAR) models based on wearable sensor measurements, such as inertial measurement units (IMUs), have been implemented in individuals with various functional impairments but not yet in people with end-stage hip OA. In addition, the balance between HAR accuracy and wearability, which is crucial for patients' acceptance, remains unclear. Finally, to assess deficits of pathological populations, comparison with asymptomatic controls is necessary. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the minimal accurate IMU configuration for HAR, from 8 to 1 IMU, in patients with hip OA and asymptomatic controls for mobility-related activities. Methods: Data from 20 patients and 9 controls were included. Participants completed a tour of ADL in the hospital vicinity while equipped with 8 IMUs. Activities included gait on flat ground, gait up and down a ramp, stair ascent/descent, turns, sitting up/down, and static sitting. Bidirectional gated recurrent unit models were trained to classify ADL based on 3D accelerations and angular velocities of multiple IMU configurations. Model accuracy was assessed on test sets of patient and control data using the Cohen Kappa( κ). Results: The resulting κ values were 0.95 for 8 IMUs, 0.93 for 4 IMUs, 0.90 for 2 IMUs, and 0.79 for 1 IMU. The accuracy was higher for controls than for patients. The best 2-IMU configurations were 2 shanks and 2 feet, and the best single-IMU configuration was the shank. Conclusions: Reducing the number of IMUs from 8 to 2 showed only a minimal decrease in κ, suggesting that minimal IMU setups could be as accurate as larger setups. Regarding gait detection, a single IMU was sufficient to reach very high accuracy (κ≥0.90). The single pelvic IMU showed the lowest accuracy for gait while still reaching high accuracy (κ>0.65). These results underline the potential of single-IMU or 2-IMU configurations to recognize mobility activities under semistandardized conditions. However, given the small sample size, these findings should be validated in larger and more heterogeneous hip OA cohorts before any clinical application can be considered. ADL GRU HAR IMU OA THA Activities of daily living Gated recurrent unit Hip osteoarthritis Human activity recognition Inertial measurement unit Neural networks Total hip arthroplasty Dewey 617 57 Département de chirurgie 222 false 900 Laboratoire de cinésiologie 943 955 Mécanismes physiopathologiques de l'arthrose 960 JMIR biomedical engineering 11 27ab84b1-6011-43ae-90a9-80ff1c057df7 Article (Published version) Public Alalem2026JMIRBI.pdf 2413625 application/pdf CC BY-4.0 c4df76a1db216282a1d93c795cb6d7e5da3ea92b55b08df53bab414804c718cb 9cffa7f6-d0a3-4c91-b374-cadcde03797f Supplemental data Public biomedeng_v11i1e95116_app1.docx 620449 application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document 0fcdebe549d9131c78a20269e5b0b108403d595f1e944a2c237b5966cd7efa8c openAccess Faculté de médecine / Section de médecine clinique / Département de chirurgie

Title	Published in	Year	Views	Downloads

Minimal Sensor Configuration for Human Activity Recognition in Patients With Hip Osteoarthritis : Proof-of-Concept Study	JMIR biomedical engineering	2026	1	0
Validity of a single inertial measurement unit to measure hip range of motion during gait in patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty	Sensors	2025	71	57

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