OT-Vision: A 3D depth sensing mobile application to aid clinician-led home environment assessments for falls prevention
Zear Ibrahim, Arthur G Money, Anita Atwal, Georgia SpiliotopoulouBackground
Accurate measurement of the home environment is a critical component of clinician-led falls-risk assessment in occupational therapy. However, traditional paper-based measurement approaches can be time-consuming and may introduce variability, particularly under real-world conditions. Advances in mobile depth-sensing technologies provide new opportunities to support clinicians during in-home assessment tasks.
Objective
This paper introduces OT-Vision, a mobile application integrating depth-perception for point-to-point measurement, designed to assist occupational therapists in performing falls-risk assessments within the home.
Methods
A within-subjects counterbalanced mixed-methods design was employed with 37 trainee and practising occupational therapists within controlled simulation environments. OT-Vision was compared with the standard paper-based measurement booklet with respect to measurement bias, accuracy, and task completion time. Usability and user experiences were evaluated via the System Usability Scale and semi-structured interviews.
Results
OT-Vision demonstrated broadly comparable levels of measurement bias compared to the paper-based guidance and modestly greater measurement accuracy, with significantly lower absolute measurement error for two items, following Holm–Bonferroni correction. Participants completed most measurement tasks more efficiently using OT-Vision, and usability scores were higher for OT-Vision versus the paper-based booklet. Qualitative findings indicated perceived benefits in workflow efficiency and measurement confidence, alongside challenges associated with reflective surfaces and adoption within established practice.
Conclusions
The findings suggest that mobile depth perception-enabled measurement applications such as OT-Vision may support more efficient and reliable measurement during home environment falls-risk assessments. While further refinement is required to address interaction and surface-related challenges, OT-Vision shows promise as a digital tool to support contemporary occupational therapy assessment practices.