Does Weightbearing Crutch Technology Impact Patient Compliance?

NYU Langone Health

Status: Completed

Conditions: Fracture Healing

Treatments: Behavioral: Weight-Bearing Feedback; Device: Smart Crutch Tip

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT05825079

22-01427

Details and patient eligibility

About

The goal of this study is to determine if weight-bearing crutch technology that delivers active feedback to patients during their treatment will impact patient compliance with physician instructions.

Enrollment: 20 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Willing and able to participate in study and complete consent
• Will undergo treatment of an isolated tibial plateau, pilon, or ankle fracture and placed in a non-weightbearing status with the use of crutches at NYU.
• Have access and use of a mobile phone (exclusively iOS and/or Android devices)

Exclusion criteria

• Patients with concomitant TBI
• Polytrauma patients
• Pathologic fractures
• Prisoners

Trial design

Primary purpose: Supportive Care

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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20 participants in 2 patient groups

Weight-Bearing Feedback Delivered to Mobile Phone

Experimental group

Description:

The weight-bearing tracking system is attached to the patient's crutch and calculates how much weight is being put on the crutch. Feedback of this data can be delivered to the patient through a mobile phone application. For Arm A of the study, feedback is delivered to the patient's paired mobile phone, providing them information on how much weight they are exerting on their crutch/injured lower extremity.

Treatment:

Device: Smart Crutch Tip

Behavioral: Weight-Bearing Feedback

No Weight-Bearing Feedback

Active Comparator group

Description:

The weight-bearing tracking system is attached to the patient's crutch and calculates how much weight is being put on the crutch. For Arm B, no feedback about weight-bearing status is delivered to the patient.

Treatment:

Device: Smart Crutch Tip