Steady Wheels
Principal Investigator
Jacob Sosnoff, Ph.D.
Team Members: Libak Abou, Ph.D. Jason Fanning, Ph.D., Mikaela L. Frechette, Ph.D. & Laura Rice, Ph.D.
Students: Makenna Snyder, MSOT, OTR
Partners: National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Post-Polio Health International, Illinois Community Health and Aging Collaborative
Individuals with long-term mobility disabilities are at increased risk of falls (Matsuda, Verrall, Finlayson, Molton, & Jensen, 2015). However, fall risk screening tools are typically designed for individuals experiencing normative aging (Ambrose, Cruz, & Paul, 2015). Consequently, most adults with mobility disabilities who use wheelchairs do not undergo comprehensive fall risk screening or receive targeted prevention strategies, leaving them at high risk of falls and loss of independence (Rice, Ousley, & Sosnoff, 2015). To address this need, we developed Steady Wheels – a custom-designed, fall risk mobile health application for adults with mobility disabilities who used wheelchairs. We demonstrated preliminary evidence that embedded sensors within smartphones could quantify seated postural control. However, we discovered that there is a there is a lack of consensus regarding fall risk factors and outcomes for older adults who are non-ambulatory, which inhibited our ability to validate and further develop the app. We conducted interviews with subject matter experts to better understand multifactorial risk factors among the target population and how the SteadyWheels could be used as a clinical tool.
Select Publications
- Hsieh, K.L., Frechette, M.L., Fanning, J., Chen, L., Griffin, A., Sosnoff J.J. (2022). The Developments and Iterations of a Mobile Technology-Based Fall Risk Health Application. Frontiers in Digital Health, 4. https://doi.org/10.3389/fdgth.2022.828686
- Abou L., Rice L.A., Frechette, M.L., & Sosnoff, J.J. (2021). Feasibility and preliminary reliability and validity of remote sitting balance assessments among wheelchair users. International Journal of Rehabilitation Research, 4(2), 177-180. doi: 10.1097/MRR.0000000000000458
- Frechette M. L., Abou L., Rice, L.A., Sosnoff, J.J. (2020). The Validity, Reliability, and Sensitivity of a Smartphone-based Seated Postural Control Assessment in Wheelchair Users. Frontiers in Sport Active Living. Sports Science, Technology and Engineering. https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2020.540930