Hand Motor Function Research Articles

Inter-rater reliability of hand motor function assessment in Parkinson’s disease: Impact of clinician training

Medication adjustments in Parkinson’s disease (PD) are driven by patient subjective report and clinicians’ rating of motor feature severity (such as bradykinesia and tremor). ObjectiveAs patients may be seen by different clinicians at different visits, this study aims to determine the inter-rater reliability of upper limb motor function assessment among clinicians treating people with PD (PwPD). MethodsPwPD performed six standardised hand movements from the Movement Disorder Society’s Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS), while two cameras simultaneously recorded. Eight clinicians independently rated tremor and bradykinesia severity using a visual analogue scale. We compared intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) before and after a training/calibration session where high-variance participant videos were reviewed and MDS-UPDRS instructions discussed. ResultsIn the first round, poor agreement was observed for most hand movements, with best agreement for resting tremor (ICC 0.66 bilaterally; right hand 95 % CI 0.50–0.82; left hand: 0.50–0.81). Postural tremor (left hand) had poor agreement (ICC 0.14; 95 % CI 0.04–0.33), as did wrist pronation-supination (right hand ICC 0.34; 95 % CI 0.19–0.56). In post-training rating exercises, agreements improved, especially for the right hand. Best agreement was observed for hand open-close ratings in the left hand (ICC 0.82, 95 % CI 0.64–0.94) and resting tremor in the right hand (ICC 0.92, 95 % CI 0.83–0.98). Discrimination between right and left hand features by raters also improved, except in resting tremor (disimprovement) and wrist pronation-supination (no change). ConclusionsClinicians vary in rating video-recorded PD upper limb motor features, especially bradykinesia, but this can be improved somewhat with training.

Effects of cervical transcutaneous spinal direct current stimulation on spinal excitability

ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of transcutaneous spinal direct current stimulation (tsDCS) on spinal cord excitability using neurophysiological methods. MethodsSpinal cord motoneuron excitability was assessed using various neurophysiological techniques in a sham-controlled randomized experiment, which involved delivering 2 mA tsDCS and testing four different montages. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), F-waves to supramaximal ulnar nerve stimulation and somatosensory evoked potentials to upper limb nerves stimulation were measured in the participants with the electrode configuration that yielded the greatest effect, for a total of about 18 min. 18 young volunteers were recruited. ResultsAmong the tested ones, the most promising tsDCS montage was the one with the anode placed on the 7th cervical spinous process and the cathode on the glottis. With this configuration, a significant enhancement of motor responses in the hand muscles to TMS of the contralateral hand motor area was observed during tsDCS (p<0.00001), reaching a plateau after 6 min. This facilitation rapidly declined within a few minutes after the tsDCS was stopped. ConclusionResults of the different techniques suggest a possible contribution to facilitatory neuromodulation of the motoneurons at the cervical spine level. SignificanceThe occurrence of enhanced excitability after tsDCS suggests potential application in individuals with partial corticospinal fiber impairment affecting hand motor function.

User Experience of a Large-Scale Smartphone-Based Observational Study in Multiple Sclerosis: Global, Open-Access, Digital-Only Study.

The Floodlight Open app is a digital health technology tool (DHTT) that comprises remote, smartphone sensor-based tests (daily activities) for assessing symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS). User acquisition, engagement, and retention remain a barrier to successfully deploying such tools. This study aims to quantitatively and qualitatively investigate key user experience (UX) factors associated with the Floodlight Open app. Floodlight Open is a global, open-access, digital-only study designed to understand the drivers and barriers in deploying a DHTT in a naturalistic setting without supervision and onboarding by a clinician. Daily activities included tests assessing cognition (Information Processing Speed and Information Processing Speed Digit-Digit), hand-motor function (Pinching Test and Draw a Shape Test), and postural stability and gait (Static Balance Test, U-Turn Test, and Two-Minute Walk Test [2MWT]). All daily activities except the 2MWT were taken in a fixed sequence. Qualitative UX was studied through semistructured interviews in a substudy of US participants with MS. The quantitative UX analysis investigated the impact of new UX design features on user engagement and retention in US participants for 3 separate test series: all daily activities included in the fixed sequence (DA), all daily activities included in the fixed sequence except the Static Balance Test and U-Turn Test (DAx), and the 2MWT. The qualitative UX substudy (N=22) revealed the need for 2 new UX design features: a more seamless user journey during the activation process that eliminates the requirement of switching back and forth between the app and the email that the participants received upon registration, and configurable reminders and push notifications to help plan and remind the participants to complete their daily activities. Both UX design features were assessed in the quantitative UX analysis. Introducing the more seamless user journey (original user journey: n=608; more seamless user journey: n=481) improved the conversion rate of participants who enrolled in the study and proceeded to successfully activate the app from 53.9% (328/608) to 74.6% (359/481). Introducing reminders and push notifications (with reminders and notifications: n=350; without reminders and notifications: n=172) improved continuous usage time (proportion of participants with ≥3 consecutive days of usage: DA and DAx: ~30% vs ~12%; 2MWT: ~30% vs ~20%); test completion rates (maximum number of test series completed: DA: 279 vs 64; DAx: 283 vs 126; 2MWT: 302 vs 76); and user retention rates (at day 30: DA: 53/172, 30.8% vs 34/350, 9.7%; DAx: 53/172, 30.8% vs 60/350, 17.1%; 2MWT: 39/172, 22.6% vs 22/350, 6.2%). Inactivity times remained comparable. The remote assessment of MS with DHTTs is a relatively nascent but growing field of research. The continued assessment and improvement of UX design features can play a crucial role in the successful long-term adoption of new DHTTs.

The presence of cognitive impairments in the acute phase of traumatic upper limb injuries: A cross-sectional observational study

ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to investigate the association between cognitive impairments and traumatic upper limb injuries of the acute phase. Material and methodsA cross-sectional observational study was conducted with three groups: a nerve-injury group, a without nerve injury group, and a control group (uninjured participants). Demographic characteristics (e.g. age, sex, body mass index, and education) and traumatic characteristics (duration since injury, injury side, pain, light touch sensation, hand motor function) were recorded. Short-term memory and executive functions were assessed using Rey Auditory and Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) and Stroop Color and Word Test (SCWT, including SIECT and SIECN), respectively. ResultsThe study comprised 43 participants in the nerve-injury group, 30 participants in the group without nerve injury, and 104 participants in the control group. Generalized linear model was applied to explore the difference of cognitive functions among three groups with impactors. Significantly poorer performance on the RAVLT was observed in the nerve-injury group compared to the other two groups, and lower score of SIECT in nerve-injury group was lower compared to the control group. However, there was no significant difference of SIECN among three groups. In addition, traumatic characteristics did not significantly impact RAVLT and SIECT (p > 0.05) in all injured participants. ConclusionTraumatic nerve injury to the upper limb appears to be associated with both short-term memory and executive function impairment, whereas musculoskeletal injuries without nerve damage showed no cognitive impairment. Therefore, it is important to monitor cognitive function following upper limb nerve injuries.

Theoretical proposal for restoration of hand motor function based on plasticity of motor-cortical interhemispheric interaction and its developmental rule.

After stroke, the poorer recovery of motor function of upper extremities compared to other body parts is a longstanding problem. Based on our recent functional MRI evidence on healthy volunteers, this perspective paper proposes systematic hand motor rehabilitation utilizing the plasticity of interhemispheric interaction between motor cortices and following its developmental rule. We first discuss the effectiveness of proprioceptive intervention on the paralyzed (immobile) hand synchronized with voluntary movement of the intact hand to induce muscle activity in the paretic hand. In healthy participants, we show that this bilateral proprioceptive-motor coupling intervention activates the bilateral motor cortices (= bilaterally active mode), facilitates interhemispheric motor-cortical functional connectivity, and augments muscle activity of the passively-moved hand. Next, we propose training both hands to perform different movements, which would be effective for stroke patients who becomes able to manage to move the paretic hand. This bilaterally different movement training may guide the motor cortices into left-right independent mode to improve interhemispheric inhibition and hand dexterity, because we have shown in healthy older adults that this training reactivates motor-cortical interhemispheric inhibition (= left-right independent mode) declined with age, and can improve hand dexterity. Transition of both motor cortices from the bilaterally active mode to the left-right independent mode is a developmental rule of hand motor function and a common feature of motor function recovery after stroke. Hence, incorporating the brain's inherent capacity for spontaneous recovery and adhering to developmental principles may be crucial considerations in designing effective rehabilitation strategies.

Supercharged end-to-side anterior interosseous nerve transfer to restore intrinsic function in high ulnar nerve injury: a prospective cohort study

BackgroundHigh ulnar nerve injuries is known to have unfavorable motor outcomes compared to other peripheral nerve injuries in the upper extremity. Functional muscle recovery after peripheral nerve injury depends on the time to motor end plate reinnervation and the number of motor axons that successfully reach the target muscle. The purpose of this study is to assess the functional recovery, and complications following performing supercharge end-to-side (SETS) anastomosis for proximal ulnar nerve injuries. Our study focuses on the role of SETS in the recovery process of high ulnar nerve injury.Patient and methodsThis study is a prospective, single-arm, open-label, case series. The original proximal nerve pathology was dealt with according to the cause of injury, then SETS was performed distally. The follow-up period was 18 months. We compared the neurological findings before and after the procedure. A new test was used to show the effect of SETS on recovery by performing a Lidocaine proximal ulnar nerve block test.ResultsRecovery of the motor function of the ulnar nerve was evident in 33 (86.8%) patients. The mean time to intrinsic muscle recovery was 6.85 months ± 1.3, only 11.14% of patients restored protective sensation to the palm and finger and 86.8% showed sensory level at the wrist level at the end of the follow-up period. Lidocaine block test was performed on 35 recovered patients and showed no change in intrinsic hand function in 31 patients.ConclusionSETS exhibit a remarkable role in the treatment of high ulnar nerve damage. SETS transfer can act as a nerve transfer that can supply intrinsic muscles by its fibers and allows for proximal nerve regeneration. We believe that this technique improves recovery of hand motor function and allows recovery of sensory fibers when combined with treating the proximal lesion.Trial registrationApproved by Research Ethics Committee of Faculty of Medicine- Cairo University on 01/09/2021 with code number: MD-215–2021.

Verification of Criterion-Related Validity for Developing a Markerless Hand Tracking Device.

Physicians, physical therapists, and occupational therapists have traditionally assessed hand motor function in hemiplegic patients but often struggle to evaluate complex hand movements. To address this issue, in 2019, we developed Fahrenheit, a device and algorithm that uses infrared camera image processing to estimate hand paralysis. However, due to Fahrenheit's dependency on specialized equipment, we conceived a simpler solution: developing a smartphone app that integrates MediaPipe. The objective of this study was to measure hand movements in stroke patients using both MediaPipe and Fahrenheit and to assess their criterion-related validity. The analysis revealed moderate-to-high correlations between the two methods. Consistent results were also observed in the peak angle and velocity comparisons across the severity stages. Because Fahrenheit determines finger recovery status based on these measures, it has the potential to transfer this function to MediaPipe. This study highlighted the potential use of MediaPipe in paralysis estimation applications.

HABIT training in unilateral spastic cerebral palsy children having mirror movement disorder.

The single-arm feasibility study was planned to evaluate the therapeutic effect of hand arm bimanual intensive training in improving the fine and gross motor functions of hand, and in the reduction of intensity with respect to mirror movement disorder. The sample comprised unilateral spastic cerebral palsy children aged 6-16 years who were having mirror movement disorder and were able to make a gross grip. The hand arm bimanual intensive training was provided to the participants for 6 hours per day for 15 days for a total of 90 hours. Comparison of baseline and post-intervention showed that the functional independence level of children had improved, with improvement in unimanual and bimanual hand performance (p˂0.05). However, there was no improvement seen in the severity of mirror movements (p>0.05). Hence, hand arm bimanual intensive training was found to be effective in increasing the functional independence of cerebral palsy children by improving the hand function, but there was no effect on mirror movement disorder.

Detection of Mild Cognitive Impairment Through Hand Motor Function Under Digital Cognitive Test: Mixed Methods Study.

Early detection of cognitive impairment or dementia is essential to reduce the incidence of severe neurodegenerative diseases. However, currently available diagnostic tools for detecting mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia are time-consuming, expensive, or not widely accessible. Hence, exploring more effective methods to assist clinicians in detecting MCI is necessary. In this study, we aimed to explore the feasibility and efficiency of assessing MCI through movement kinetics under tablet-based "drawing and dragging" tasks. We iteratively designed "drawing and dragging" tasks by conducting symposiums, programming, and interviews with stakeholders (neurologists, nurses, engineers, patients with MCI, healthy older adults, and caregivers). Subsequently, stroke patterns and movement kinetics were evaluated in healthy control and MCI groups by comparing 5 categories of features related to hand motor function (ie, time, stroke, frequency, score, and sequence). Finally, user experience with the overall cognitive screening system was investigated using structured questionnaires and unstructured interviews, and their suggestions were recorded. The "drawing and dragging" tasks can detect MCI effectively, with an average accuracy of 85% (SD 2%). Using statistical comparison of movement kinetics, we discovered that the time- and score-based features are the most effective among all the features. Specifically, compared with the healthy control group, the MCI group showed a significant increase in the time they took for the hand to switch from one stroke to the next, with longer drawing times, slow dragging, and lower scores. In addition, patients with MCI had poorer decision-making strategies and visual perception of drawing sequence features, as evidenced by adding auxiliary information and losing more local details in the drawing. Feedback from user experience indicates that our system is user-friendly and facilitates screening for deficits in self-perception. The tablet-based MCI detection system quantitatively assesses hand motor function in older adults and further elucidates the cognitive and behavioral decline phenomenon in patients with MCI. This innovative approach serves to identify and measure digital biomarkers associated with MCI or Alzheimer dementia, enabling the monitoring of changes in patients' executive function and visual perceptual abilities as the disease advances.

Pneumatically Actuated Soft Robotic Hand and Wrist Exoskeleton for Motion Assistance in Rehabilitation

Exoskeletons are being explored for assisting motion therapy for neurological impairment-related rehabilitation. Soft robotic exoskeletons are gaining more attention for upper-extremity applications due to their simplistic actuation mechanisms and compliant nature. To regain fine motor hand functions, it is desired to have both hand and wrist motions in a coordinated fashion, as most daily living tasks require a combination of both hand and wrist joint motions. However, a soft robotic exoskeleton with hand and wrist motion together is an underdeveloped area. This paper presents a pneumatically actuated soft robotic exoskeleton designed to provide coordinated assistive motion to the hand and wrist joints using PD-based feedback control. The results showed the potential of the exoskeleton to provide flexion/extension rehabilitation exercises and task-oriented rehabilitation practices. Additionally, the results have confirmed that the implemented PD control ensures that the exoskeleton reaches the targeted angular trajectories and velocities. Two modes, full and partial assistance, were successfully tested to verify the ability of the exoskeleton to accommodate varying levels of impairment.

Functional MRI evaluation of hyperbaric oxygen therapy’s effect on hand motor recovery in a chronic post-stroke patient: a case report and physiological discussion

The objective of the case report was to evaluate a specific HBOT protocol as an effective treatment for stroke rehabilitation, specifically improving hand motor function in chronic post-stroke patients. Stroke is the second leading cause of long-term disability worldwide. About 80% of individuals with acute stroke present upper-limb motor impairment, and 50–60% will have persistent disability or weakness at the chronic phase. Impaired upper-limb motor function is highly associated with low self-care ability, limited mobility and poor quality of life. In recent years, there has been evidence of the neuroplasticity effects of HBOT, and HBOT was found to induce neuroplasticity in chronic stages, even years after brain injury. While the healthcare system is primarily focused on teaching patients to live with their impairments, this case report evaluates the effect of a specific hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) protocol on true stroke rehabilitation, specifically, improving upper-limb function. This case report studied motor task functional MRI (fMRI) activation and resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) in a 61-year-old right-handed male patient who suffered hemiparesis and physical weakness in the right upper limb two years after his acute insult, pre- and post-treatment of 60 daily HBOT sessions. Motor functions were assessed at baseline and after the treatment using the Fugl–Meyer assessment (FMA) and the handgrip maximum voluntary contraction (MVC). Following the HBOT protocol, the patient’s FMA score improved from 17 (severe impairment) to 31 (moderate impairment), and there was an increase in fMRI activation in both the supplementary motor cortex (SMA) and the premotor cortex (PMA) bilaterally during trials involving the right hand. The lateralization index (LI) decreased from 1 to 0.63, demonstrating the recruitment of the contralesional hemisphere. The region of interest, ROI-to-ROI, analysis revealed increased post-intervention inter-hemispheric connectivity (P = 0.002) and a between-network connectivity increase (z-score: 0.35 ± 0.21 to 0.41 ± 0.21, P &lt; 0.0001). Seed-to-voxel-based rsFC analysis using the right SMA as seed showed increased connectivity to the left posterior parietal cortex, the left primary somatosensory cortex and the premotor cortex. This case report provides additional insights into HBOT-induced brain plasticity and functional improvement in chronic post-stroke patients, and shows HBOT’s potential as an effective, valuable treatment option for those suffering with lingering symptoms after a stroke. This work was conducted by a research team at the Sagol Center for Hyperbaric Medicine and Research at Shamir Medical Center and Tel Aviv University, and published in Frontiers in Neurology. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2024 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.

Low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in patients with motor deficits after brain tumor resection: a randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled trial.

Surgical resection of motor eloquent tumors poses the risk of causing postoperative motor deficits which leads to reduced quality of life in these patients. Currently, rehabilitative procedures are limited with physical therapy being the main treatment option. This study investigated the efficacy of repetitive navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for treatment of motor deficits after supratentorial tumor resection. This randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled trial (DRKS00010043) recruited patients with a postoperatively worsened upper extremity motor function immediately postoperatively. They were randomly assigned to receive rTMS (1Hz, 110% RMT, 15 minutes, 7 days) or sham stimulation to the motor cortex contralateral to the injury followed by physical therapy. Motor and neurological function as well as quality of life were assessed directly after the intervention, one month and three months postoperatively. Thirty patients were recruited for this study. There was no significant difference between both groups in the primary outcome, the Fugl Meyer score three months postoperatively [Group difference (95%-CI): 5.05 (-16.0; 26.1); p=0.631]. Patients in the rTMS group presented with better hand motor function one month postoperatively. Additionally, a subgroup of patients with motor eloquent ischemia showed lower NIHSS scores at all timepoints. Low-frequency rTMS facilitated the recovery process in stimulated hand muscles, but with limited generalization to other functional deficits. Long-term motor deficits were not impacted by rTMS. Given the reduced life expectancy in these patients a shortened recovery duration of deficits can still be of high significance. https://drks.de/DRKS00010043.

The long-term results of proximal interphalangeal joint arthroplasty of the hand

Introduction Small joints replacement is a valid treatment for deforming osteoarthritis and traumatic injuries to the phalangeal joints of the hand to restore motor hand functions. Various types of implants differing in shape, biomechanics and material composition have been developed.The purpose of the study was to evaluate long-term results of the proximal interphalangeal joint arthroplasty of the hand using various implants and identify their advantages.Material and methods We retrospectively reviewed 78 cases of proximal interphalangeal joint replacement in 64 patients. Outcomes were assessed at 6 months and at follow-up stages with preoperative and postoperative measurements of the range of motion in the joint evaluating pain, radiographs and outcomes measures using the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) questionnaire.Results The range of motion in the prosthetic joint increased significantly at different follow-up periods with all types of implants. The pain syndrome decreased. Radiographs revealed 10 cases of aseptic instability in the group of constrained prostheses. The DASH assessment showed high subjective satisfaction with the treatment.Discussion We could not find papers reporting PIP joint arthroplasty using SBI D.G.T. implant system. A retrospective study of RM Finger arthroplasty of the PIP joint indicated restored joint stability with AROM improvement and with low pain, although it had a high rate of complications. We recorded no complications with this implant model. Some authors would not recommend the RM Finger implant (Mathys) for PIP joint replacement. Arthroplasty of small joints of the hand with MOJE kermik-implantate showed satisfactory outcomes for 82 % of patients at a long term.Conclusion Arthroplasty of the PIP joint of the hand using various implant designs resulted in greater mobility of the upper limbs, a lower pain due to subjective improvement in the functionality at a long term. Although the procedures were effective with all implant designs the reliability of changes in the parameters was more evident with nonconstrained implants.

Evaluation of Functional Outcomes After Reconstruction of Post-burn Contracture of the Hand in the Pediatric Age Group: A Prospective Study.

Background Injuries on the hand due to burns affect the quality and functions of activities of daily living (ADL). Severe burns cause lasting complications and deformities, such as contracture of the hand, which require multiple staged surgeries and rehabilitation for extended periods to regain function. This is of major significance to children, as they are in the growing and developmental age group, which should be considered while planning a reconstructive procedure. Psychological counselling is equally important for these patients to accept the residual deformity and cosmesis of the hand following surgery. Methods A prospective interventional study was conducted on 40 patients to assess the functional outcomes of various reconstructive procedures for post-burn contracture of the hand and to find out which is the better surgical intervention for restoring the hand functions needed for ADL. Functional outcomes were analyzed using the Modified Jebson Hand Function Test (JHFT) after a minimum of four months. Results In the group of children operated on with flap procedures, the maximum number of patients had average functional outcomes. Functional outcomes were assessed using the Modified JHFT, in which fine motor, weighted, and non-weighted hand function activities were assessed and analyzed. However, in the group of children operated on by the Z-plasty procedure and skin graft procedure, the maximum number of patients had poor functional outcomes. Conclusion The management of burn injuries on the hand and subsequent contractures is often challenging, especially in pediatric patients. Timely intervention, patient education, and surgical skills with an appropriate choice of reconstructive procedures play a vital role in achieving good postoperative results. This study showed that hands reconstructed using flap procedures had good functional outcomes compared to graft and Z-plasty procedures.

Effect of a Nurse-Led Rehabilitation Program: A Quasi-Experimental Study Examining Functional Outcomes in Patients With Hand Burns.

The model of early rehabilitation for people with burns is still relatively novel in developing countries such as Egypt. The study examined the effect of a nurse-led rehabilitation program on functional outcomes in patients with severe hand burns. A quasi-experimental design was used in this study. The study was completed in the burn unit of a teaching university hospital in Alexandria, Egypt, with a convenience sample of 80 patients with severe hand burns. Participants were consecutively assigned to one of two groups: control ( n = 40), which received only routine hospital care and clinical interventions, or intervention ( n = 40), which received routine hospital care and clinical interventions and a 4-week nurse-led rehabilitation program (health education including audiovisual aids and burn rehabilitation education booklet, social support, and hand rehabilitation exercises). To assess functional outcomes, both groups were given pre- and posttests of the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand outcome and the Hand Motor Function Observational Checklist questionnaires. Descriptive and inferential statistics were conducted. Functional outcomes were significantly improved in the intervention participants compared to the control participants ( t = 5.710, p < .001). The differences in index scores between the two groups were statistically significant ( p < .001). The study provides information for burn rehabilitation nurses in developing countries to develop and test early interventions that improve functional outcomes in this population. A 4-week nurse-led program may be a beneficial intervention for improving functional outcomes in adult patients with severe hand burns who are undergoing rehabilitation.

Use of smartphone-based remote assessments of multiple sclerosis in Floodlight Open, a global, prospective, open-access study

Floodlight Open was a global, open-access, digital-only study designed to understand the drivers and barriers in deployment and use of a smartphone app in a naturalistic setting and broad study population of people with and without multiple sclerosis (MS). The study utilised the Floodlight Open app: a ‘bring-your-own-device’ solution that remotely measures a user’s mood, cognition, hand motor function, and gait and postural stability via smartphone sensor-based tests requiring active user input (‘active tests’). Levels of mobility of study participants (‘life-space measurement’) were passively measured. Study data from these tests were made available via an open-access platform. Data from 1350 participants with self-declared MS and 1133 participants with self-declared non-MS from 17 countries across four continents were included in this report. Overall, MS participants provided active test data for a mean duration of 5.6 weeks or a mean duration of 19 non-consecutive days. This duration increased among MS participants who persisted beyond the first week to a mean of 10.3 weeks or 36.5 non-consecutive days. Passively collected life-space measurement data were generated by MS participants for a mean duration of 9.8 weeks or 50.6 non-consecutive days. This duration increased to 16.3 weeks/85.1 non-consecutive days among MS participants who persisted beyond the first week. Older age, self-declared MS disease status, and clinical supervision as part of concomitant clinical research were all significantly associated with higher persistence of the use of the Floodlight Open app. MS participants performed significantly worse than non-MS participants on four out of seven active tests. The findings from this multinational study inform future research to improve the dynamics of persistence of use of digital monitoring tools and further highlight challenges and opportunities in applying them to support MS clinical care.

Effectiveness of Immersive Virtual Reality-Based Hand Rehabilitation Games for Improving Hand Motor Functions in Subacute Stroke Patients.

Stroke rehabilitation faces challenges in attaining enduring improvements in hand motor function and is frequently constrained by interventional limitations. This research aims to present an innovative approach to the integration of cognitive engagement within visual feedback incorporated into fully immersive virtual reality (VR) based games to achieve enduring improvements. These innovative aspects of interaction provide more functional advantages beyond motivation to efficiently execute repeatedly hand motor tasks. The effectiveness of virtual reality games incorporated with innovative aspects has been investigated for improvements in hand motor functions. A randomized controlled trial was conducted, a total of (n=56) subacute stroke patients were assessed for eligibility and (n=52) patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria. (n=26) patients were assigned to the experimental group and (n=26) patients were assigned to the control group. VR intervention involves four VR based games, developed based on hand movements including flexion/extension, close/open, supination/pronation and pinch. All patients got therapy of 24 sessions, lasting 4 days/week for a total of 6 weeks. Five clinical outcome measures were Fugl- Meyer Assessment-Upper Extremity, Action Research Arm Test, Box and Block Test, Modified Barthel Index, and Stroke-Specific Quality of Life were assessed to evaluate patients' performance. Results revealed that after therapy there was significant improvement between the groups (p<0.05) and within groups (p<0.05) in all assessment weeks in all clinical outcome measures however, improvement was observed significantly greater in the experimental group due to fully immersive VR-based games. Results indicated that cognitive engagement within visual feedback incorporated in VR-based hand games effectively improved hand motor functions.

Hand function after neonatal stroke: A graph model based on basal ganglia and thalami structure

IntroductionNeonatal arterial ischemic stroke (NAIS) is a common model to study the impact of a unilateral early brain insult on developmental brain plasticity and the appearance of long-term outcomes. Motor difficulties that may arise are typically related to poor function of the affected (contra-lesioned) hand, but surprisingly also of the ipsilesional hand. Although many longitudinal studies after NAIS have shown that predicting the occurrence of gross motor difficulties is easier, accurately predicting hand motor function (for both hands) from morphometric MRI remains complicated. The hypothesis of an association between the structural organization of the basal ganglia (BG) and thalamus with hand motor function seems intuitive given their key role in sensorimotor function. Neuroimaging studies have frequently investigated these structures to evaluate the correlation between their volumes and motor function following early brain injury. However, the results have been controversial. We hypothesize the involvement of other structural parameters. MethodThe study involves 35 children (mean age 7.3 years, SD 0.4) with middle cerebral artery NAIS who underwent a structural T1-weighted 3D MRI and clinical examination to assess manual dexterity using the Box and Blocks Test (BBT). Graphs are used to represent high-level structural information of the BG and thalami (volumes, elongations, distances) measured from the MRI. A graph neural network (GNN) is proposed to predict children’s hand motor function through a graph regression. To reduce the impact of external factors on motor function (such as behavior and cognition), we calculate a BBT score ratio for each child and hand. ResultsThe results indicate a significant correlation between the score ratios predicted by our method and the actual score ratios of both hands (p < 0.05), together with a relatively high accuracy of prediction (mean L1 distance < 0.03). The structural information seems to have a different influence on each hand’s motor function. The affected hand’s motor function is more correlated with the volume, while the ‘unaffected’ hand function is more correlated with the elongation of the structures. Experiments emphasize the importance of considering the whole macrostructural organization of the basal ganglia and thalami networks, rather than the volume alone, to predict hand motor function. ConclusionThere is a significant correlation between the structural characteristics of the basal ganglia/thalami and motor function in both hands. These results support the use of MRI macrostructural features of the basal ganglia and thalamus as an early biomarker for predicting motor function in both hands after early brain injury.

Brain Activation Pattern Caused by Soft Rehabilitation Glove and Virtual Reality Scenes: A Pilot fNIRS Study.

Clinical studies have proved significant improvements in hand motor function in stroke patients when assisted by robotic devices. However, there were few studies on neural activity changes in the brain during execution. This study aimed to investigate the brain activation pattern caused by soft rehabilitation glove and virtual reality scenes. Twenty healthy subjects and twenty stroke patients were recruited to complete three controlled trials: grasping passively with robotic glove assistance (RA), watching grasping movement video in virtual reality (VR), and the joint use of robotic glove and virtual reality (VRA). Neural activity in the prefrontal cortex, motor cortex and occipital lobe was synchronously collected by the functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) device. Activation level and functional connectivity of these brain regions were subsequently calculated and statistically analyzed. For both groups, the VR and VRA tasks induced activation of larger cortical areas. Stroke group had higher average cortical activation in all three tasks compared to healthy group, especially in the prefrontal cortex (P < 0.05). Functional connectivity was weaker in the stroke group than in the healthy group across most regions, but was significantly stronger across some regions of the right hemisphere. These findings suggest significant differences in activation patterns across three tasks. In addition, multi-sensory stimulation can promote functional communication between more brain regions in patients. It has potential for neuromodulation in rehabilitation training by setting up different sensory stimulation modalities.

AMBER: A Device for Hand Motor and Cognitive Rehabilitation-Development and Proof of Concept.

Stroke survivors usually exhibit concurrent motor and cognitive impairment. Historically, rehabilitation strategies post-stroke occur separately in terms of motor and cognitive functions. However, recent studies show that hand motor interventions can have a positive impact on cognitive recovery. In this work, we introduce AMBER (portAble and Modular device for comprehensive Brain Evaluation and Rehabilitation), a new device developed for the evaluation and rehabilitation of both hand motor function and cognition simultaneously. AMBER is a simple, portable, ergonomic and cheap device based on Force Sensitive Resistors, in which every finger interaction is recorded to provide information about finger strength, processing speed, and memory status. This paper presents the requirements of the device and the design of the system. In addition, a pilot study was conducted with 36 healthy individuals using the evaluation module of the device to assess its psychometric properties, as test-retest reliability and measurement error. Its validity was also evaluated comparing its measurements with three different gold standards for strength, processing speed and memory. The device showed good test-retest reliability for strength (ICC =0.741-0.852), reaction time (ICC =0.715 - 0.900) and memory (ICC =0.556-0.885). These measures were correlated with their corresponding gold standards (r =0.780-890). AMBER shows great potential to impact hand rehabilitation, offering therapists a valid, reliable and versatile tool to comprehensively assess patients. With ongoing advancements and refinements, it has the opportunity to significantly impact rehabilitation practices and improve patient outcomes.