Pulmonary rehabilitation [PR] has been successfully carried out via telemedicine however initial patient assessment has been traditionally conducted in PR centers. The first step in PR is assessment of patient's exercise capacity which allows individualized prescription of safe and effective exercise program. With COVID-19 pandemics assessment of patients in PR centers has been limited resulting in significant reduction of patients undergoing life-saving PR. The goal of this pilot study was to introduce approaches for remote assessment of exercise capacity using videoconferencing platforms and provide initial usability assessment of this approach by conducing cognitive walkthrough testing. We developed a remote assessment system that supports comprehensive physical therapy assessment necessary for prescription of a personalized exercise program tailored to individual fitness level and limitations in gait and balance of the patient under evaluation. Usability was assessed by conducting cognitive walkthrough and system usability surveys. The usability inspection of the remote exercise assessment demonstrated overall high acceptance by all study participants. Our next steps in developing user-centered interface should include usability evaluation in different subgroups of patients with varying socio-economic background, different age groups, computer skills, literacy and numeracy.
Keywords: exercise capacity; pulmonary rehabilitation; telemedicine.