Cirrhosis and advanced liver disease cause patients to lose strength and mobility through conditions known as frailty (severe physical deconditioning) and sarcopenia (severe loss of muscle mass/function). EL-FIT is a smartphone app developed to facilitate home-based exercise and an aid tool for prehabilitation (rehabilitation prior to liver transplantation). Considering the dire need to increase physical activity, EL-FIT aims to fill the gap between a doctor’s recommendation to exercise and the prescription by an exercise professional experienced with advanced liver disease patients. EL-FIT aims to engage patients with cirrhosis in an exercising community.
Developed by liver providers for liver patients, EL-FIT provides:
1) Assessment on training level through an automated stratification algorithm that maximizes safety and particularly aims to prevent exercise-induced injury in the frail.
2) Demonstration of training by unlocking of exercise videos and goals that are appropriate for each corresponding training level, and by educational material on health, fitness and nutrition.
3) Tracking of all physical activities through compatible wearables. This feature allows remote monitoring of patients engaged in home-based exercise programs.
4) Reporting of training accomplishments through a friendly profile and automated news feed, allowing participants in the exercising community to congratulate each other.
5) Motivation to participants through gamification features, a leaderboard promoting competition among its members, and encouraging messages from trainers.
EL-FIT is available for research and clinical practice. If you are a provider or a patient interested in using EL-FIT please email us at elfit.pitt@gmail.com.