Assessing the Accuracy of the Azure Kinect for Telerehabilitation After Breast Cancer Surgery

Background: Rehabilitation plays a key role in the recovery of upper extremity function after breast cancer surgery. Motion capture (mocap) systems for serious gaming have shown the potential to enable home-based rehabilitation, but clinical accuracy needs to be examined. Objectives: Validation of markerless mocap systems for telerehabilitation after breast cancer surgical intervention. Methods: The accuracy of the markerless mocap device Azure Kinect in detecting compensatory movements and postural disturbances has been compared to a gold standard Optitrack system in five volunteers. Subsequently, a serious game for mocap-based shoulder exercises has been developed and integrated into a telerehabilitation platform. Results: The Azure Kinect shows good reliability for scapular elevation (ICC >0.80; MAE <2.1 cm) and trunk tilt (ICC=0.88; MAE=5°), moderate reliability for rounded shoulders (ICC=0.51; MAE=2.6cm) and poor reliability for kyphosis angle (ICC=0.22; MAE=18°). Conclusion: The Azure Kinect provides reasonable performance for shoulder rehabilitation. The proposed telerehabilitation platform has been tested by rehabilitation specialists and received positive feedback.