The Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA), led by Dr. Parminder Raina, is implementing mobility measures in all the remaining waves of the CLSA using wearable technologies. Mobility limitations, such as difficulty walking or transferring to and from a car, are common and costly problems affecting older adults with a range of chronic health conditions. Studies have consistently shown that that mobility limitation is an especially strong predictor of adverse outcomes, such as disability, hospitalization, and death. CLSA study participants will be required to wear a waterproof military-grade smartwatch. The smartwatch with a built-in tri-axial accelerometer, gyro-sensor, heart rate sensor, low latency off body sensor, barometer, activity recognition (e.g., walking, still, vehicle, biking, etc.) and GNSS receiver. It will need to utilize the Wear OS operating system by GoogleTM as the customizability that Wear OS provides, allows for data storage and retrieval directly from the watch and collection of raw data. Local storage ensures data privacy and security, and raw data collection allows for more in-depth analyses. The monitor must work under reduced battery consumption, which will be needed as part of the CLSA protocol to capture life space mobility (Location data) for a minimum of 10 hours per day.
