Training grip control with a Fitts' paradigm: a pilot study in chronic stroke.

摘要

STUDY DESIGN: A clinical measurement study. PURPOSE: To test the applicability of Fitts' paradigm to grasping tasks in individuals with chronic stroke. INTRODUCTION: Fitts' Law relates the time of target achievement to task difficulty in repetitive motor tasks. METHODS: Six male chronic stroke patients performed repetitive actuation of a grip force dynamometer with their affected hands for 12 sessions over four to six weeks. RESULTS: Movement times followed Fitts' behavior with correlations of R(2)>0.8 for all subjects. Grasp control improved during training, as indicated by an average decrease in Fitts' slope of 26% at high difficulty levels (p<0.05), and decreases in the number of force corrections and in jerkiness, both at p<0.001 level. CONCLUSIONS: The Fitts' grip force targeting protocol provides an objective standardized instrument for grasp proficiency quantification and a potentially efficacious platform for hand training for persons with stroke. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: N/A.