What works—and what fails—in remote mobility testing?

Senior patient completing home mobility assessment with professional support

MedMeters literature review prepared 31 October 2026. The year in the article heading refers to the original study publication, not an earlier MedMeters posting date.

19 peopletested at home via video calls · findings from external research

Clinical question

Can older adults repeat established physical-function tests at home during video-guided sessions?

Study design

Nineteen community-dwelling older adults completed nine functional tests during three videoconference sessions, roughly a week apart. Tasks included gait speed, 5xSTS, 30s Sit-to-Stand and balance tests.

What the researchers found

No adverse events were recorded in the study. Test–retest reliability was good for several functional tests (ICC 0.75–0.9), while single-leg balance reliability was poor. Familiarization improved performance and participants reported device-setup barriers.

Why this matters for MedMeters

MedMeters can use these findings to prioritize safer, repeatable home workflows, camera-placement guidance, remote-supervision options and protocol-specific eligibility checks.

What this does not prove

This was a small, supervised feasibility study rather than validation of automated CV scoring. Results must not be generalized to every patient, unsupervised test or home environment.

Original peer-reviewed publication

Remote physical function testing in older adults: a mixed methods study exploring test reliability, feasibility, and perceptions of participants and assessors
Fyfe et al. · PLOS ONE · 2025
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0332691

External scientific evidence summary. Not medical advice. MedMeters is a concept under development and has not been evaluated in these studies. Clinical claims, validation and regulatory status must be established separately.