Evaluation of skilled arm movements in patients with stroke using a computerized motor-skill analyser for the arm

Abstract

To study the utility of a new computerized motor-skill analyser (CMSA) for evaluating visuo-motor skilled movements of the arm, we examined (1) the reproducibility of measurement with the CMSA for the arm in 13 healthy participants and 14 patients with stroke and (2) the correlation between motor skills of the affected arm evaluated with the CMSA and clinical tests for upper extremity function in 20 patients with stroke. The CMSA for the arm was used to calculate the accuracy in tracking with the hand. The inter-class correlation coefficients for lap time, geometric trajectory error, trajectory error integrated over time and the marker trajectory error integrated over time were 0.45 (NS)-0.91 (P<0.01) in healthy participants and 0.62 (P<0.05)-0.90 (P<0.01) in patients with stroke. The trajectory error integrated over time and the geometric errors of the affected arm in stroke patients were negatively correlated with the Brunnstrom stage and the simple test for evaluating hand function. The marker trajectory error integrated over time in stroke patients was negatively correlated with the simple test for evaluating hand function. These results suggest that the CMSA for the arm is useful for quantitatively evaluating delicate visuo-motor skills of the arm.

Anti-spastic effects of the direct application of vibratory stimuli to the spastic muscles of hemiplegic limbs in post-stroke patients

“…Here, participants were required to catch or to pinch objects of 10 different shapes and sizes and to carry them to a designated area. The objects were spheres (70 mm diameter, n ¼ 5; 40 mm diameter, n ¼ 6; 5 mm diameter, n ¼ 6); disks (20 mm diameter  10 mm height, n ¼ 6; 20 mm diameter  2 mm height, n ¼ 6), boxes (100  100  47 mm, n ¼ 5; 35  35  35 mm, n ¼ 6; 14  14  14 mm, n ¼ 6), thin pieces of cloth (90  80 mm, n ¼ 6) and pins (3 mm diameter  42 mm length, n ¼ 6) [30].…”

Cerebral functional imaging using near-infrared spectroscopy during repeated performances of motor rehabilitation tasks tested on healthy subjects

“…Furthermore, previous studies have focused on acquisition of a new task, but not improving performance in the same task, which is usually achieved in motor rehabilitation. The simple test for evaluating hand function (STEF) is a standardized test for upper-extremity functions, in which the time required for completing repetitive manual tasks is measured (Yamanaka et al, 2005; Kawahira et al, 2009). In the present study, we investigated a role of the aDMPFC in performance improvement during repetitive STEF in healthy subjects using functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS).…”

Function Assessment for Rheumatoid Thumb Deformity

“…Hand function was evaluated with the Modified Kapandji Index (MKI) [8] [9] and the simple test for evaluating hand function (STEF) [10] [11]. The MKI score is obtained by summing the scores of three tests, but in this study to assess thumb function, only opposition of the thumb was performed, and scored from 0 (impossible to do) to 10 (completely accomplished).…”