A Systematic Multidisciplinary Process for User Engagement and Sensor Evaluation: Development of a Digital Toolkit for Assessment of Movement in Children With Cerebral Palsy

Objectives: To describe and critique a systematic multidisciplinary approach to user engagement, and selection and evaluation of sensor technologies for development of a sensor-based Digital Toolkit for assessment of movement in children with cerebral palsy (CP).

Methods: A sequential process was employed comprising three steps: Step 1: define user requirements, by identifying domains of interest; Step 2: map domains of interest to potential sensor technologies; and Step 3: evaluate and select appropriate sensors to be incorporated into the Digital Toolkit. The process employed a combination of principles from frameworks based in either healthcare or technology design.

Results: A broad range of domains were ranked as important by clinicians, patients and families, and industry users. These directly informed the device selection and evaluation process that resulted in three sensor-based technologies being agreed for inclusion in the Digital Toolkit, for use in a future research study.

Conclusion: This report demonstrates a systematic approach to user engagement and device selection and evaluation during the development of a sensor-based solution to a healthcare problem. It also provides a narrative on the benefits of employing a multidisciplinary approach throughout the process. This work uses previous frameworks for evaluating sensor technologies and expands on the methods used for user engagement.