Three ways to measure movement objectively — and why the phone wins on reach.
Lab-based motion capture, wearable sensors, and smartphone markerless analysis all quantify movement. They differ most in what they require to do it — and how easily that fits real clinical work.
| Dimension | Kinetically Smartphone, markerless | Lab-based capture Markers & force plates | Wearable sensors Body-worn IMUs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardware required | A smartphone or tablet you already own | Marker systems, multi-camera rigs, force plates, dedicated lab space | Body-worn IMU sensors, straps, charging, pairing |
| Setup per assessment | Open the app, frame, capture — moments | Marker placement and calibration; minutes to set up | Don sensors, pair, calibrate per session |
| Where it works | Bedside, clinic, or the patient's home | A fixed lab the patient must travel to | Anywhere sensors are worn — if worn correctly |
| What it captures | Full-body movement — gait, balance, mobility, upper-limb, tremor | High-fidelity full-body kinematics and kinetics | Signals limited to where sensors are placed |
| Markerless | Yes — 1,200+ landmarks from video, nothing on the body | No — physical markers attached to the patient | No — devices attached to the patient |
| Reproducibility | Consistent across raters, visits, and devices | High in-lab, but hard to reproduce outside it | Sensitive to placement and wear compliance |
| Capital cost | No new hardware to procure or maintain | High capital expense and ongoing maintenance | Per-sensor cost, replacement, and logistics |
| Patient experience | Nothing to wear; familiar phone-based capture | Markers and an unfamiliar lab environment | Devices to wear, remember, and keep charged |
Lab-based motion capture remains a gold standard for research-grade fidelity, and wearables excel at continuous, all-day activity data. Kinetically's focus is different: bringing objective, reproducible clinical measurement to the point of care — without new hardware, a lab, or anything attached to the patient.
If it needs a lab, it doesn't scale.
Accessibility
The most accurate measurement is the one that actually gets taken. Running on devices clinics already own means objective assessment can happen at every visit — and at home — not only in a lab a patient rarely reaches.
Reproducibility
Markerless capture removes marker-placement variability. The same patient produces the same numbers across raters, visits, and devices — the property clinical decisions depend on.
Workflow fit
No separate session, room, or device to manage. Capture slots into the appointment that's already happening, and the metrics flow into documentation.
Total cost
No capital equipment, no marker suits, no per-sensor replacement. The hardware budget is the phone in your pocket.
See it measure movement, live.
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