[ aPPLICaTIOn RevIeW ]

Range of Motion App Highlighted by Treatment Applicability and Usefulness

Reviewed by Lisa MueLLeR, dPT

spend a good part of my treatment sessions measuring range of motion, and thats one reason I was excited to try a new application called GetMyROM from Interactive Medical Productions LLC. The app has three tabs at the bottom of the home screen. ROM is the first tab and it shows a goniometer in the background with banners instructing the user to tap the screen to start, stop and release each measurement. The second tab is Logs, where each measurement taken from the app is logged into a database. Users can specify the side, joint and motion (flexion/extension) for each log and the date/ time of each value is automatically included. The final tab is Settings, which has links to support for the app as well as version information and sound-effect options. Initially using the app was somewhat frustrating. I wasnt sure if the back or side of my iPhone was supposed to be adjacent to the body part. I tried my own hip abduction and had measurements of 200 degrees obviously I wasnt using the app correctly. I then measured a few shoulder, hip and ankle motions on my friends and had some accurate readings and others (like my own hip) that were

extremely inaccurate. The website for the app (GetMyROM.com) offers three demonstration videos for cervical flexion, side bending and rotation, which I also found loaded onto YouTube. While the videos showed more appropriate measurements than I found with my own hip movements, the website didnt offer a very thorough explanation of how to use the app for the most accurate measurements. So, I emailed the company and asked how to use the app correctly. This was certainly not my preference since apps should be fairly common sense, especially one that is basically a digital goniometer, but I needed clarification. The response I received from the GetMyROM team (within one day) explained that the icon in the upper right or upper left corner of the main screen indicates if the movement is clockwise or counterclockwise. Since the device cannot determine the correct reference of movement, the user must select the direction of motion prior to starting a measurement. I took a few more measurements by first setting up the direction indicator and as a result received consistently accurate values. Overall, I really liked using the app. Once I figured out the direction aspect of the mea-

surements, it was incredibly easy to use. The graphics are simple and tapping the screen to take measurements is extremely quick to complete. In the last week that I have been using the app, it appears the values are fairly accurate when compared with a traditional goniometer. The only weakness of the app is actually the width of the iPhone, which makes it somewhat difficult to measure smaller joints or body parts. The GetMyROM app is available only for the iPhone and can be purchased through apples app Store for $2.99. n
Lisa Mueller earned her DPT from Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI, in 2009. She then spent more than two years working in an acute intensive care unit and has recently transitioned into an outpatient orthopedic setting. She also writes a weekly blog on the aDvanCe website called "PT and the City."

GetMyROM App by Interactive Medical Productions LLC

Rating of Function for Physical Therapy Professionals ease of Use Relevance to PT Frequency of projected use Potential for upgrade with improvements Usefulness for therapeutic intervention accuracy Number of Stars out of 5

nOTeS:

DISCLaIMeR: The purpose of this review is to inform the reader about an application related to health care practice. any opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of ADVANCE. 2012 MeRIOn MaTTeRS

ADVANCE
for Physical Therapy & Rehab Medicine

www.advanceweb.com/PT