LMC appears to be valid and reliable in the 15-s grip-and-release test. This serves as a first step towards the development of an objective myelopathy assessment device and platform for the assessment of neuromotor hand function in general. Further assessment in a clinical setting and to gauge healthy benchmark values is warranted.

Purpose To set a baseline measurement of the number of hand flexion-extension cycles and analyse the degree of motion in young healthy individuals, measured by Leap Motion Controller (LMC), besides describing gender and dominant hand differences.Methods Fifty healthy participants were asked to fully grip-and-release their dominant hand as rapidly as possible for a maximum of three minutes or until subjects fatigued, while wearing a nonmetal wrist splint. Participants also performed a 15-second grip-and-release test. An assessor blindly counted the frequency of grip-and-release cycles and magnitude of motion from the LMC data. ResultsThe mean number of the 15-second G-R cycles recorded by LMC was: 47.7±6.5 (test 1, LMC); and 50.2±6.5 (test 2, LMC). In the 3-minute test, the total number of hand flexion-extension cycles and the degree of motion decreased as the person fatigued. However, the decline in frequency preceded that of motion's magnitude. The mean frequency of cycles per 10-second interval decreased from 35.4 to 26.6 over the 3 minutes. Participants reached fatigue from 59.38 seconds; 43 participants were able to complete the 3-minute test.Conclusions Normative values of the frequency of cycles and extent of motion for young healthy individuals, aged 18-35 years, are provided. Future work is needed to establish valued in a wider age range and in a clinical setting.