Use of an Instrumented Timed Up and Go (iTUG) for Fall Risk Classification

Aim: To determine if an instrumented Timed Up and Go (iTUG) can accurately classify older adult recurrent fallers and non-fallers who are age and sex-matched. Methods: iTUG data from older adult recurrent fallers (n = 25) and age and sex-matched non-fallers (n = 25) were selected for comparison from a pool of participants (n = 148) that were involved in a larger age and mobility related study. Results: All of the iTUG measures demonstrated a low level of accuracy in classifying recurrent fallers from non-fallers (AUC = 0.49-0.56) and there were no significant differences in any of the iTUG performance measures between groups. Conclusion: The iTUG was unable to appropriately classify or differentiate older adult recurrent fallers from non-fallers who were both age and sex-matched. The role and usefulness of body-worn sensors for assessing mobility and fall risk require further investigation.