Medical Design and Outsourcing

  • Home
  • Medical Device Business
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Financial
    • Regulatory
  • Applications
    • Cardiovascular
    • Devices
    • Imaging
    • Implantables
    • Medical Equipment
    • Orthopedic
    • Surgical
  • Technologies
    • Supplies and Components Index
    • Contract Manufacturing
    • Components
    • Electronics
    • Extrusions
    • Materials
    • Motion Control
    • Prototyping
    • Pumps
    • Tubing
  • MedTech Resources
    • Medtech Events in 2025
    • The 2024 Medtech Big 100
    • Medical Device Handbook
    • MedTech 100 Index
    • Subscribe to Print Magazine
    • DeviceTalks
    • Digital Editions
    • eBooks
    • Educational Assets
    • Manufacturer Search
    • Podcasts
    • Print Subscription
    • Webinars / Digital Events
    • Whitepapers
    • Voices
    • Video
  • 2025 Leadership
    • 2024 Winners
    • 2023 Winners
    • 2022 Winners
    • 2021 Winners
  • Women in Medtech
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe

Activity Matters: How Fitbit Can Help Us Understand Cancer Surgery Recovery

December 26, 2017 By Oxford University Press USA

A new study published in Annals of Behavioral Medicine finds that more activity during inpatient recovery predicted lower risk of 30- and 60-day readmission after surgery for metastatic peritoneal cancer. By monitoring patients using Fitbit, researchers found that higher Fitbit steps forecast better patient outcomes.

Exercise is encouraged after surgery and is a key component of recovery, but postoperative exercise is rarely monitored systematically as part of clinical care or examined as a predictor of important clinical outcomes such as readmission.

The recent emergence and growing popularity of commercially available, low cost, reliable wearable devices like Fitbits permit simple, objective, and continuous quantification of physical activity and remote real-time monitoring of patient ambulation, but whether these passively-sensed data can predict subsequent clinically important outcomes remains unclear.

Readmission is common after complex cancer surgeries, with 15-50 percent of patients readmitted within 30 days of discharge following surgery to remove abdominal cancer. Preventable readmissions are associated with increased health care costs and poor long-term outcomes including early mortality, and patient and family stress and suffering.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the number of steps taken during inpatient recovery predicts 30- and 60-day readmission risk after metastatic cancer surgery. Patients diagnosed with metastatic peritoneal cancer and scheduled for surgical resection were enrolled in this observational cohort study at their preoperative clinic visit. Fitbits were placed on patients’ wrists upon transfer from intensive care following surgery and worn for the duration of their inpatient stay. Information about hospital readmission was extracted from electronic medical records.

In this March 1, 2017, file photo, Fitbit’s new Alta HR is shown in several colors, in New York. (Image credit: AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

Seventy-one patients participated in the study. The researchers calculated mean steps per day for each participant over the entire inpatient recovery period. Readmission within 30 and 60 days was medically indicated for 34 percent and 39 percent of patients, respectively. After statistically adjusting for age, body mass index, comorbidity, and length of postoperative stay, higher mean steps per day predicted lower 30-day and 60-day readmission risk.

Higher Fitbit mean daily step counts during inpatient recovery predicted lower risk of 30- and 60-day readmission after metastatic cancer surgery. These associations persisted after adjustment for demographic and medical covariates such as age, diagnosis, and length of postoperative stay as well as preoperative patient-reported exercise frequency.

The researchers believe that remotely monitoring real-time patient ambulation using Fitbit devices may provide opportunities to improve postoperative clinical care with minimal burden to patients and clinical providers.

Related Articles Read More >

This is a Zimmer Biomet marketing image of its Rosa robotic surgery system.
Zimmer Biomet seeks a ZBEdge for its Rosa robotic surgery
A photo of Capstan Medical's mitral valve implant, which uses nitinol.
Capstan Medical’s R&D head discusses the heart valve and robotics startup’s tech, engineering challenges and solutions, advice for others in medtech and how to join his team
An illustration of a neurosurgeon using a robotic endoscope to remove a brain tumor.
MDO Nitinol Innovation Special Report
A photo of Highridge Medical CEO Rebecca Whitney.
Highridge Medical is betting on this spine tech
“mdo
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest medical device business news, application and technology trends.

DeviceTalks Weekly

See More >

MDO Digital Edition

Digital Edition

Subscribe to Medical Design & Outsourcing. Bookmark, share and interact with the leading medical design engineering magazine today.

MEDTECH 100 INDEX

Medtech 100 logo
Market Summary > Current Price
The MedTech 100 is a financial index calculated using the BIG100 companies covered in Medical Design and Outsourcing.
DeviceTalks

DeviceTalks is a conversation among medical technology leaders. It's events, podcasts, webinars and one-on-one exchanges of ideas & insights.

DeviceTalks

New MedTech Resource

Medical Tubing

MassDevice

Mass Device

The Medical Device Business Journal. MassDevice is the leading medical device news business journal telling the stories of the devices that save lives.

Visit Website
MDO ad
Medical Design and Outsourcing
  • MassDevice
  • DeviceTalks
  • MedTech100 Index
  • Medical Tubing + Extrusion
  • Medical Design Sourcing
  • Drug Delivery Business News
  • Drug Discovery & Development
  • Pharmaceutical Processing World
  • R&D World
  • About Us/Contact
  • Advertise With Us
  • Subscribe to Print Magazine
  • Subscribe to our E-Newsletter
  • Listen to our Weekly Podcasts
  • Join our DeviceTalks Tuesdays Discussion

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media LLC. Site Map | Privacy Policy | RSS

Search Medical Design & Outsourcing

  • Home
  • Medical Device Business
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Financial
    • Regulatory
  • Applications
    • Cardiovascular
    • Devices
    • Imaging
    • Implantables
    • Medical Equipment
    • Orthopedic
    • Surgical
  • Technologies
    • Supplies and Components Index
    • Contract Manufacturing
    • Components
    • Electronics
    • Extrusions
    • Materials
    • Motion Control
    • Prototyping
    • Pumps
    • Tubing
  • MedTech Resources
    • Medtech Events in 2025
    • The 2024 Medtech Big 100
    • Medical Device Handbook
    • MedTech 100 Index
    • Subscribe to Print Magazine
    • DeviceTalks
    • Digital Editions
    • eBooks
    • Educational Assets
    • Manufacturer Search
    • Podcasts
    • Print Subscription
    • Webinars / Digital Events
    • Whitepapers
    • Voices
    • Video
  • 2025 Leadership
    • 2024 Winners
    • 2023 Winners
    • 2022 Winners
    • 2021 Winners
  • Women in Medtech
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe