Diagnosing Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Acquired Weakness

The primary purpose of this study is to develop a procedure to identify intensive care unit (ICU) acquired weakness. This condition occurs in a subset of people admitted into the ICU, and is associated with a 30% increased risk of death before discharge from the ICU. There are currently major limitations in the ability to diagnose ICU acquired weakness, making it difficult to study. The goal is to develop a non-invasive test that can be administered to both responsive and non-responsive patients. The current proposal will focus on replicating the results of previous research using motion detecting accelerometers to measure fatigue in human skeletal muscles. This study is designed to test out the procedures in patients who have been transferred from the ICU to a lower level of care so that follow-on studies can be designed to help mitigate this condition in the ICU.