Clinical videos enable digital assessment of functional recovery and prediction of long-term outcomes after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction
摘要
Computer vision enables scalable biomechanical assessment of human movement without specialized laboratories. These emerging technologies could inform personalization of physical therapy after sports-related injuries, such as anterior cruciate ligament ruptures, ensuring such injuries do not end an athlete’s career, delay return to sport, or increase the risk of reinjury or post-traumatic osteoarthritis. Despite the availability of computer-vision tools, the clinical relevance of video-derived data after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) remains unclear, motivating the current study. Video, marker-based motion capture, strength testing, and patient-reported outcomes from 46 participants were collected during 3-month and 9-month post-surgery visits in laboratory and clinical settings. Video-derived kinematic asymmetry during functional exercises was computed using a single-view approach (SAM 3D Body). Video-based asymmetry measured at 3 months significantly improved prediction of 9-month patient-reported outcomes (ρ = 0.61 without video data, ρ = 0.87 with video data). A video-derived kinematic asymmetry index, collected within two minutes, was highly correlated with a dynamometer-based strength-asymmetry index requiring 40 minutes (r = 0.86, p < 0.001). Prognostic video-based metrics were repeatable between laboratory and clinical environments. These findings support video-based motion capture as a clinically meaningful and scalable candidate digital biomarker of functional recovery and long-term outcomes after ACLR.