The Oaks A Mobile Exercise and Education Program for People with Osteoarthritis of the Knee

Project Summary This Fast Track SBIR project long term objective is to develop and test of a minimum viable product MVP of The Oaks a perioperative digital education assessment and guided exercise software application for adults with osteoarthritis of the knee KOA awaiting total knee replacement TKR surgery This product is relevant to the mission of the NIA because it addresses the call for Development of technologies to assist in the improvement of physical function and mobility in older persons prior to prehabilitaiton or following rehabilitation elective planed surgery The envisioned MVP is an elegantly simple mobile application that is designed to specifically measure the Centers for Medicare Medicaidandapos s CMS Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement CJR required assessments and physical performance assessments prior to and following TKR provide educational content typically contained in pre operative TKR classes and track recovery of function for days following TKR surgery This product was conceived in response to four main drivers the growing number of adults aging with KOA needing TKR the need for developing improved patient care perioperatively for TKR surgeries the finding that attending educational classes and performing strengthening exercises prior to TKR improves outcomes and lowers post surgical medical utilization potentially saving billions of dollars and the CMS CJR rule requiring healthcare systems to reduce the cost of care delivery for TKR surgeries within a diminishing bundled payment This application is very timely and has great potential for widespread adoption as it will be designed based on end user feedback from all stakeholder groups including people with KOA and the medical care team Broad Objective We intend to translate existing evidence based educational material assessments and exercises to a mobile device for widespread dissemination and adoption to prevent functional decline pre and post operatively promote health and wellbeing and improve patient care and outcomes through coordinated higher quality of care Approach In Phase I we will employ user centered design methodologies to develop a minimum viable product MVP Alpha version of The Oaks for adults over age with TKR surgery and identify and evaluate feature and content expansions adaptations for The Oaks Beta MVP In Phase II we will employ user centered iterative design approaches to develop The Oaks Beta MVP and we will complete feasibility usability and a pilot effectiveness study Research Design We will use a between subjects way ANOVA App No App repeated measures pre post surgery design to determine feasibility usability and effectiveness pilot data of The Oaks Participants will self select class no class and then be randomized to App Group or No app Group stratified by class no class Expected Outcomes We believe that The Oaks will be a feasible and usable adjunct to TKR for KOA perioperatively and for days post surgery The app will provide healthcare professionals with important data regarding function while reducing the cost of care delivery Project Narrative This proposal describes the development of The Oaks a perioperative digital education assessment and guided exercise program for adults with osteoarthritis of the knee awaiting total knee replacement surgery The Oaks presents opportunities for improved care delivery improved patient satisfaction and improved outcomes