(Research Hub Theater) Safety and Feasibility of Integrating Tele-exercise with Remote Monitoring Systems in People with Multiple Sclerosis

Objective: To evaluate the safety and feasibility of integrating tele-exercise intervention with remote monitoring systems in people with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Design: The safety and feasibility of an integrated tele-exercise and remote monitoring system in people with MS (PwMS) was evaluated by deploying a 6-week remote intervention study design.

Setting: The intervention was deployed in the general community and outcomes were collected in a hospital setting.

Participants: Eleven participants (eight female) with MS 51.2±8.6 years of age on average with a PDDS of 1-5.

Interventions: Participants completed a 6-week tele-exercise program delivered through an online video streaming platform called Burnalong.

Main Outcome Measures: Safety was evaluated by assessing the number of falls, adverse events, and fatigue ratings as measured by the visual analog scale for fatigue. Participants daily feasibility was evaluated by quantifying the adherence to assigned tele-exercise and remote monitoring activities. Remote monitoring activities included wearing a Fitbit smart watch and responding to daily digital surveys deployed through a mobile application (MyCap).

Results: Participants did not report any adverse events or falls suggesting that the home-based exercise program, accessible through Burnalong, is a safe method of deploying tele-exercise for PwMS. On average, participants were 59.8%±13.4 adherent to assigned exercises and 68.43%±7.63 adherent to remote monitoring activities.

Conclusions: This study demonstrates the preliminary safety and feasibility integrating tele-exercise delivered through an online video streaming platform with state-of-the-art remote monitoring systems. Integrating tele-exercise interventions with measurements derived from remote monitoring systems may provide novel insight regarding the acute and chronic impact of tele-exercise interventions.