Abstract
BackgroundCervical spinal cord injury (cSCI) often causes chronic upper extremity disability. Reliable measurement of arm function is critical for development of therapies to improve recovery after cSCI. In this study, we report a suite of automated rehabilitative tools to allow simple, quantitative assessment of hand and wrist motor function.MethodsWe measured range of motion and force production using these devices in cSCI participants with a range of upper limb disability and in neurologically intact participants at two time points separated by approximately 4 months. Additionally, we determined whether measures collected with the rehabilitative tools correlated with standard upper limb assessments, including the Graded Redefined Assessment of Strength, Sensibility, and Prehension (GRASSP) and the Jebsen Hand Function Test (JHFT).ResultsWe find that the rehabilitative devices are useful to provide assessment of upper limb function in physical units over time in SCI participants and are well-correlated with standard assessments.ConclusionsThese results indicate that these tools represent a reliable system for longitudinal evaluation of upper extremity function after cSCI and may provide a framework to assess the efficacy of strategies aimed at improving recovery of upper limb function.
Highlights
Spinal cord injury is a common cause of disability, affecting more than 300,000 people in the US [1]
The results indicate that the novel system can deliver simple and reliable longitudinal evaluation of upper extremity function after Cervical spinal cord injury (cSCI) and may provide a framework to assess the efficacy of strategies aimed at improving recovery of upper limb function
The average age, weight, and height was similar in cSCI and uninjured control (UI) participants (Age; cSCI: 32.2 ± 3.7, UI: 28.9 ± 0.9; Unpaired t-test, p = 0.41; Height; cSCI: 1.76 ± 0.04 m, UI: 1.74 ± 0.04 m; p = 0.73; Weight; cSCI: 75.9 ± 5.4 kg, UI: 76.2 ± 4.0 kg; p = 0.94)
Summary
Spinal cord injury is a common cause of disability, affecting more than 300,000 people in the US [1]. The majority of injuries occur at the cervical level, which often impairs function of upper extremities and can lead to chronic disability [2,3,4]. Accurate and sensitive measurement of upper limb function is a critical part of the development and assessment of new therapies to improve recovery after SCI. Grasse et al Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation (2019) 16:48 To increase their utility and implementation, measurement systems should be simple to use, facilitate standardized administration, report sensitive, quantitative metrics, and provide reliable longitudinal testing [15]. Cervical spinal cord injury (cSCI) often causes chronic upper extremity disability. Reliable measurement of arm function is critical for development of therapies to improve recovery after cSCI. We report a suite of automated rehabilitative tools to allow simple, quantitative assessment of hand and wrist motor function
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