Test-Retest reliability and preliminary reliable change estimates for Sway Balance tests administered remotely in community-dwelling adults.

Objective: Impaired balance and postural stability can occur with advanced age, following traumatic brain injury, in association with neurological disorders and diseases, and as the result of acute or chronic orthopedic problems. The remote assessment of balance and postural stability could be of value in clinical practice and research. We examined the test-retest reliability and reliable change estimates for Sway Balance Mobile Application tests (Sway Medical, Tulsa OK, USA) administered remotely from the participant's home. Method: Primarily young, healthy community-dwelling adults completed Sway Balance Mobile Application tests remotely on their personal mobile devices once per week for three consecutive weeks while being supervised with a video-based virtual connection. Sway Balance tests include five stances (i.e., feet together, tandem right foot forward, tandem left foot forward, single leg right foot, single leg left foot), which are averaged to compute a Sway Balance composite score from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating better postural stability. We examined test-retest reliability (measured with intraclass correlation coefficients, ICCs) and preliminary reliable change estimates for 70%, 80%, and 90% confidence intervals. Results: Participants included 55 healthy adults (ages = 26.7 ± 9.9 years, interquartile range = 20-30, range = 18-58; 38 [69%] women). Test-retest reliability for the Sway Balance composite score across three weeks was.88. Test-retest reliability for individual stances ranged from 62 to 83 (all ps < 0.001). At the 80% confidence interval, preliminary reliable changes estimates were 9 points for the Sway Balance composite score. Conclusions: For a remote administration, test-retest reliability was moderate-to-good for all Sway Balance stances, as well as for the Sway Balance composite score. Reliable change estimates may allow clinicians to determine whether an improvement or decline in performance is greater than the expected improvement or decline due to measurement error in young adults.

Test-Retest Reliability and Reliable Change Estimates for Four Mobile Cognitive Tests Administered Virtually in Community-Dwelling Adults.

Objective: Remote mobile cognitive testing (MCT) is an expanding area of research, but psychometric data supporting these measures are limited. We provide preliminary data on test-retest reliability and reliable change estimates in four MCTs from SWAY Medical, Inc. Methods: Fifty-five adults from the U.S. Midwest completed the MCTs remotely on their personal mobile devices once per week for 3 consecutive weeks, while being supervised with a video-based virtual connection. The cognitive assessment measured simple reaction time ("Reaction Time"), go/no-go response inhibition ("Impulse Control"), timed visual processing ("Inspection Time"), and working memory ("Working Memory"). For each cognitive test except Working Memory, we analyzed both millisecond (ms) responses and an overall SWAY composite score. Results: The mean age of the sample was 26.69years (SD=9.89; range=18-58). Of the 55 adults, 38 (69.1%) were women and 49 (89.1%) used an iPhone. Friedman's ANOVAs examining differences across testing sessions were nonsignificant (ps>0.31). Intraclass correlations for Weeks 1-3 were: Reaction Time (ms): 0.83, Reaction Time (SWAY): 0.83, Impulse Control (ms): 0.68, Impulse Control (SWAY): 0.80, Inspection Time (ms): 0.75, Inspection Time (SWAY): 0.75, and Working Memory (SWAY): 0.88. Intraclass correlations for Weeks 1-2 were: Reaction Time (ms): 0.75, Reaction Time (SWAY): 0.74, Impulse Control (ms): 0.60, Impulse Control (SWAY): 0.76, Inspection Time (ms): 0.79, Inspection Time (SWAY): 0.79, and Working Memory (SWAY): 0.83. Natural distributions of difference scores were calculated and reliable change estimates are presented for 70, 80, and 90% CIs. Conclusion: Test-retest reliability was adequate or better for the MCTs in this virtual remote testing study. Reliable change estimates allow for the determination of whether a particular level of improvement or decline in performance is within the range of probable measurement error. Additional reliability and validity data are needed in other age groups.

Accuracy of the SWAY Mobile Cognitive Assessment Application.

BACKGROUND: Mobile electronic devices have become integral tools in addressing the need for portable assessment of cognitive function following neurocognitive/motor injury. SWAY Medical, Inc., has employed mobile device motion-based technology in the SWAY Cognitive Assessment (SWAY CA) application to assess cognitive function. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to assess whether the SWAY CA application (reaction time, impulse control and inspective time) was able to reliably operate on different mobile devices and operating systems (iOS, Android). The study further sought to assess the validity of the SWAY CA application against the FDA approved ImPACT QT mobile device application. STUDY DESIGN: Original Research, observational study of validity. METHODS: 88 healthy, young adults, 18 to 48 years (mean= 22.09 ± sd=4.47 years) completed four, randomized and counter-balanced, reaction time tests (2- SWAY RT, 2- ImPACT QT) using different operating systems (iOS, Android) of 4 randomly assigned mobile devices. RESULTS: ANOVAs reported the SWAY CA application (reaction time, impulse control, inspection time) operated reliably with iPhone 6S, Samsung Galaxy S9, and iPad Pro 5 mobile devices (p > 0.05), respectively. Google Pixel 3 reliability with SWAY CA application remains undetermined. SWAY CA simple reaction motion measures were in agreement (r = -0.46 to 0.22, p ≤ 0.05) with several ImPACT QT reaction time measures. SWAY CA impulse control and inspection time measures are weakly correlated (r = -0.25 to -0.46, p ≤ 0.05) with five ImPACT QT reaction time measures. CONCLUSION: The motion-based SWAY CA mobile device application appears to reliably operate when being administered on different mobile devices and software operating systems. Furthermore, the SWAY CA application appears to be comparable to the ImPACT QT and serve as a valid tool for assessing reaction time measures. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level 2b (observational study of validity).

A comparative study: tongue muscle performance in weightlifters and runners.

Exercise mode (i.e., resistance training, endurance training) is known to yield mode-specific effects on strength and endurance of muscles that are directly targeted during the exercise. Such mode-specific effects can also be observed in indirectly involved (i.e., nontargeted) muscles. Mode-specific muscle performance changes of nontargeted muscles, however, have only been investigated within the skeletal system. Therefore, as a first step, this study aimed to determine if bulbar muscle performance (tongue strength [TS], tongue endurance [TE]) differs between weightlifters and runners and if group differences are tongue region-specific. The Iowa Oral Performance Instrument (IOPI) was used to measure TS and TE of the anterior and posterior tongue regions in 21 weightlifters and 23 runners. In weightlifters anterior TS was significantly greater than posterior TS (P = 0.008), whereas in runners anterior and posterior TS were comparable. Furthermore, weightlifters produced significantly greater anterior TS than runners (P = 0.001). Finally, TE was overall significantly greater in runners than in weightlifters (P = 0.001). Findings suggest that exercise mode may differentially impact performance patterns of nontargeted bulbar muscles. More research is warranted to better understand the mechanisms underlying tongue muscle performance differences between weightlifters and runners.

Tongue strength and endurance: Comparison in active and non-active young and older adults.

PURPOSE: Tongue strength and endurance are important for swallowing and upper airway patency. Physical activity positively affects targeted and non-targeted skeletal muscles; however, little is known about the indirect effect of physical activity on tongue muscles. This study sought to determine if tongue muscle performance differs between highly active and non-active individuals and if such an effect varies with age. METHOD: Forty-eight healthy adults were divided into two age groups (24 young, 20.96 ± 3.22 years; 24 older, 65 ± 3.72 years) and further divided into highly active and non-active based on The General Practice Physical Activity Questionnaire. Tongue strength (TS) and tongue endurance (TE) were obtained using the Iowa Oral Performance Instrument. RESULT: A significant main effect of activity level on TS and TE was found. Although the main effect of age on TS and TE and age × activity level interactions were not significant, the effect of activity level on TS and TE was more pronounced in older adults than younger adults. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest physical activity may affect TS and TE, particularly in older adults. Future research is warranted to understand the underlying mechanisms contributing to these group differences. Clinical implications of these findings are discussed.