Kriara Lito, Dondelinger Frank, Capezzuto Luca, Bernasconi Corrado, Lipsmeier Florian, Galati Adriano, Lindemann Michael
F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Basel, Switzerland.
J Med Internet Res. 2025 Apr 3;27:e63090. doi: 10.2196/63090.
Floodlight Open is a global, open-access, fully remote, digital-only study designed to understand the drivers and barriers in deployment and persistence of use of a smartphone app for measuring functional impairment in a naturalistic setting and broad study population.
This study aims to assess measurement equivalence properties of the Floodlight Open app across operating system (OS) platforms, OS versions, and smartphone device models.
Floodlight Open enrolled adult participants with and without self-declared multiple sclerosis (MS). The study used the Floodlight Open app, a "bring-your-own-device" (BYOD) solution that remotely measured MS-related functional ability via smartphone sensor-based active tests. Measurement equivalence was assessed in all evaluable participants by comparing the performance on the 6 active tests (ie, tests requiring active input from the user) included in the app across OS platforms (iOS vs Android), OS versions (iOS versions 11-15 and separately Android versions 8-10; comparing each OS version with the other OS versions pooled together), and device models (comparing each device model with all remaining device models pooled together). The tests in scope were Information Processing Speed, Information Processing Speed Digit-Digit (measuring reaction speed), Pinching Test (PT), Static Balance Test, U-Turn Test, and 2-Minute Walk Test. Group differences were assessed by permutation test for the mean difference after adjusting for age, sex, and self-declared MS disease status.
Overall, 1976 participants using 206 different device models were included in the analysis. Differences in test performance between subgroups were very small or small, with percent differences generally being ≤5% on the Information Processing Speed, Information Processing Speed Digit-Digit, U-Turn Test, and 2-Minute Walk Test; <20% on the PT; and <30% on the Static Balance Test. No statistically significant differences were observed between OS platforms other than on the PT (P<.001). Similarly, differences across iOS or Android versions were nonsignificant after correcting for multiple comparisons using false discovery rate correction (all adjusted P>.05). Comparing the different device models revealed a statistically significant difference only on the PT for 4 out of 17 models (adjusted P≤.001-.03).
Consistent with the hypothesis that smartphone sensor-based measurements obtained with different devices are equivalent, this study showed no evidence of a systematic lack of measurement equivalence across OS platforms, OS versions, and device models on 6 active tests included in the Floodlight Open app. These results are compatible with the use of smartphone-based tests in a bring-your-own-device setting, but more formal tests of equivalence would be needed.
“泛光灯开放研究”是一项全球性、开放获取、完全远程且仅数字化的研究，旨在了解在自然环境和广泛研究人群中，一款用于测量功能障碍的智能手机应用程序在部署和持续使用方面的驱动因素与障碍。
本研究旨在评估“泛光灯开放研究”应用程序在操作系统（OS）平台、OS版本和智能手机设备型号之间的测量等效性。
“泛光灯开放研究”招募了自我声明患有或未患有多发性硬化症（MS）的成年参与者。该研究使用了“泛光灯开放研究”应用程序，这是一种“自带设备”（BYOD）解决方案，通过基于智能手机传感器的主动测试远程测量与MS相关的功能能力。通过比较应用程序中包含的6项主动测试（即需要用户主动输入的测试）在不同OS平台（iOS与安卓）、OS版本（iOS版本11 - 15以及分别的安卓版本8 - 10；将每个OS版本与合并在一起的其他OS版本进行比较）和设备型号（将每个设备型号与合并在一起的所有其他设备型号进行比较）上的表现，对所有可评估参与者的测量等效性进行评估。纳入范围的测试包括信息处理速度、信息处理速度数字对数字（测量反应速度）、捏合测试（PT）、静态平衡测试、掉头测试和2分钟步行测试。在调整年龄、性别和自我声明的MS疾病状态后，通过排列检验评估组间差异的均值差异。
总体而言，分析纳入了使用206种不同设备型号的1976名参与者。亚组之间测试表现的差异非常小或较小，在信息处理速度、信息处理速度数字对数字、掉头测试和2分钟步行测试中，百分比差异通常≤5%；在PT中<20%；在静态平衡测试中<30%。除了PT（P<.001）外，未观察到OS平台之间存在统计学显著差异。同样，在使用错误发现率校正进行多重比较校正后，iOS或安卓版本之间的差异无统计学意义（所有校正后的P>.05）。比较不同设备型号发现，仅在17种型号中的4种型号的PT上存在统计学显著差异（校正后的P≤.001 -.03）。
与不同设备基于智能手机传感器获得的测量结果等效这一假设一致, 本研究表明，在“泛光灯开放研究”应用程序包含的6项主动测试中，没有证据表明在OS平台、OS版本和设备型号之间系统地缺乏测量等效性。这些结果与在自带设备环境中使用基于智能手机的测试兼容，但需要更正式的等效性测试。
