A Finger Movement Evaluation Device to Monitor the Use of Paretic Hand During Daily Life Activities

摘要

Hand movement tracking devices are important to monitor impaired hand function during daily activities. The study presented in this paper investigates the feasibility of using a hand glove device to monitor the use of paretic hand in daily life. A Finger Movement Evaluation Device (FMED) was developed for this purpose and it was tested on six stroke subjects who used it for two days. FMED records the flexion angle of two metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joints (for example, index and middle MCP joints). A questionnaire was used to evaluate subjects' acceptance of FMED. Data collected by FMED were analyzed to calculate the ratio of finger movement episodes during the day and amount of movement as a sum of individual movement episodes. Results showed a high satisfaction of patients and the ability to acquire quantitative information about the quality of movement while using the device; these results concluded that FMED is a promising tool to monitor the use of impaired hand in real life whether as a regular routine test or as part of a home based therapy set up.