title: Assessment of daily-life reaching performance after stroke.
abstract: For an optimal guidance of the rehabilitation therapy of stroke patients in an in-home setting, objective, and patient-specific performance assessment of arm movements is needed. In this study, metrics of hand movement relative to the pelvis and the sternum were estimated in 13 stroke subjects using a full body ambulatory movement analysis system, including 17 inertial sensors integrated in a body-worn suit. Results were compared with the level of arm impairment evaluated with the upper extremity part of the Fugl-Meyer Assessment scale (uFMA). Metrics of arm movement performance of the affected side, including size of work area, maximum reaching distance and movement range in vertical direction, were evaluated during a simulated daily-life task. These metrics appeared to strongly correlate with uFMA scores. Using this body-worn sensor system, metrics of the performance of arm movements can easily be measured and evaluated while the subject is ambulating in a simulated daily-life setting. Suggested metrics can be used to objectively assess the performance of the arm movements over a longer period in a daily-life setting. Further development of the body-worn sensing system is needed before it can be unobtrusively used in a daily-life setting.
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Signals and Systems, MIRA - Institute for Biomedical Technology and Technical Medicine, University of Twente, PO Box 217, 7500 AE, Enschede, The Netherlands, f.b.vanmeulen@utwente.nl.
authors.forename: Fokke B
authors.initials: FB
authors.lastname: van Meulen
authors.forename: Jasper
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Reenalda
authors.forename: Jaap H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Buurke
authors.forename: Peter H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Veltink
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001132:Arm / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D005260:Female; D006225:Hand / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020127:Recovery of Function; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D020521:Stroke / Q000503:physiopathology*