Sparta Science's new Portable Scan Kit makes Movement Health assessments more practical, portable, and accessible.

Movement Health assessments require tight facilitation and collaboration between the user and practitioner. At the same time, technology must fit into existing environments and processes. Large-scale process reengineering rarely leads to successful adoption and outcomes. 

With these two factors in mind, Sparta Science developed a new Portable Scan Kit that captures mobile Movement Health metrics with an iPad and Force Plates. It allows practitioners to scan in a clinic, gym, outside area, or just about anywhere they want to assess users. A table and floor stand kit are available, and the assessment takes about two minutes. Self-guided prompts and error checking during the assessment process provide instantaneous feedback to users while ensuring high-quality, standardized data is captured.

Challenges with Movement Health data capture

There are plenty of digital health solutions on the market. Still, the industry needs more standardized metrics and centralized databases. Most organizations need help understanding their entire population, spend a lot of time on manual assessments, and lack the insight to make better decisions. Who should we send for further evaluation? Which percentage of the population is ready to return to work? How did a concussion impact a player? Sparta provides standardized assessments that help organizations align on Movement Health KPIs, plus role-based access so users, practitioners, and executives can "speak a common language."

Real-time synthesis and benchmarking provide insight

iPads use Apple's new M series chips to stream data from Sparta Science Force Plates. They capture raw biometric data alongside more advanced metrics, such as Fall Risk, derived using Sparta's machine-learning models that compare incoming data against billions of historically-captured data points. These comparisons help stakeholders see how scores compare to others in the same age range, understand where balance may be misaligned, and provide a point-in-time barometer of Movement Health—on an individual and organization-wide level.

Strengthening the Therapeutic Alliance

We know that therapeutic alliance, or the symbiotic relationship between a patient and provider, is crucial for physical therapy success. With the Portable Scan Kit, practitioners and patients can actively collaborate with a touchscreen-enabled Scan application. Patients have continuous feedback to keep them engaged throughout the rehab process. They can track their progress toward goals to help practitioners adjust and fine-tune protocols. An optional mobile app shows users their scores and provides reinforcement exercises.

Because the evaluation process takes just a few minutes, practitioners can spend more one-on-one time with patients, with the iPad providing a focal point for collaboration. The evaluation process is supported by billing codes—97750, 97530, and 97110 are commonly used. We'll dive more into these in a future blog post.

The value of an intelligence platform

The iPad provides a central collaboration point and enables more freedom for practitioners during the capture process. That’s the hardware side. Still, the value of Sparta is its intelligent backend that allows organizations to build upon the data capture as it happens and leverage continuous innovation in the cloud without touching the hardware—or force plates and iPads—at all.

In speaking of the move amongst hardware manufacturers toward software-enabled functions, Dmitry Loschnin in Forbes says, “This has given rise to a new class of products—software-defined assets—in which software, rather than hardware, provides the bulk of the solution.”

This evolution has spawned a new generation of connected, software-powered devices that, unlike traditional hardware, can leverage ongoing innovation in computer and data science.

The software-defined approach Sparta Science uses allows things like:

• Comparisons against billions of historical data points to unveil "not-seen-by-the-naked-eye" insight.
• Before and after progress indicators - view by week, year, individual, and organization.
• Logical grouping of populations into cohorts, powered by Machine Learning, to inform the next-best action.
• Integrating other digital health metrics, e.g., the correlation between sleep and Movement Health scores.

We are excited to deliver the Portable Scan Kit and even more thrilled to help organizations build a Movement Health data asset to see trends, know what’s working, and improve outcomes. And it all starts with an iPad and a force plate.

View the datasheet for more information.