Biomechanical monitoring and machine learning for the detection of lying postures

Background Pressure mapping technology has been adapted to monitor over prolonged periods to evaluate pressure ulcer risk in individuals during extended lying postures. However, temporal pressure distribution signals are not currently used to identify posture or mobility. The present study was designed to examine the potential of an automated approach for the detection of a range of static lying postures and corresponding transitions between postures.

Methods Healthy subjects (n = 19) adopted a range of sagittal and lateral lying postures. Parameters reflecting both the interactions at the support surface and body movements were continuously monitored. Subsequently, the derivative of each signal was examined to identify transitions between postures. Three machine learning algorithms, namely Naïve-Bayes, k-Nearest Neighbors and Support Vector Machine classifiers, were assessed to predict a range of static postures, established with a training model (n = 9) and validated with new input from test data (n = 10).

Findings Results showed that the derivative signals provided a means to detect transitions between postures, with actimetry providing the most distinct signal perturbations. The accuracy in predicting the range of postures from new test data ranged between 82%–100%, 70%–98% and 69%–100% for Naïve-Bayes, k-Nearest Neighbors and Support Vector Machine classifiers, respectively.

Interpretation The present study demonstrated that detection of both static postures and their corresponding transitions was achieved by combining machine learning algorithms with robust parameters from two monitoring systems. This approach has the potential to provide reliable indicators of posture and mobility, to support personalised pressure ulcer prevention strategies.