title: An electromechanical testing device for assessment of hand motor function.
abstract: Instrumentation was designed and constructed to assess the strength and function of the intrinsic muscles of the index and long fingers of the hand. The device consisted of two beams instrumented with strain gages, signal conditioners, and a microprocessor-based embedded controller. A study conducted on four weak spinal cord injury (SCI), three nonweak SCI, and 21 control subjects demonstrated a trend of reduced maximum pinching force between the index and long fingers in weak SCI subjects compared with the other two groups. Weak SCI subjects also demonstrated a significantly slower rapid alternating movement speed of the index finger compared with the other two groups. The instrument has potential use as a clinical tool for quantitative evaluation of the progression of hand motor dysfunction.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle 98195, USA.
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Byers
authors.forename: B S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Goldstein
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Sanders
mesh_terms: D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D002138:Calibration; D004867:Equipment Design; D005260:Female; D005385:Fingers / Q000294:innervation / Q000502:physiology*; D018737:Hand Strength / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008662:Metacarpophalangeal Joint / Q000502:physiology; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D010808:Physical Examination / Q000295:instrumentation*; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014159:Transducers