Clinical validation of kinematic assessments of post-stroke upper limb movements with a multi-joint arm exoskeleton.
Florian Grimm, Jelena Kraugmann, Georgios Naros and 1 others
PMID 34078400WHAT IT FOUND
Exoskeleton-based kinematic assessment accurately predicted motor impairment in severely impaired stroke patients.
Shoulder internal/external rotation and grip pressure were the strongest predictors. This method took 6 minutes, compared to 30 minutes for the clinical Fugl-Meyer Assessment.
Key findings
01A multiple regression model using kinematic parameters significantly predicted the UE-FMA score, with an adjusted R-squared of 0.83.
02Shoulder internal/external rotation and grip pressure were the only kinematic parameters that significantly contributed to the prediction of the UE-FMA score.
03The kinematic assessment took an average of 6 minutes and 15 seconds, while the clinical UE-FMA evaluation took approximately 30 minutes.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study included a small sample size (n = 19). The participants were all severely impaired, so the findings may not apply to patients with mild or moderate impairment. The exoskeleton's range of motion limits may be exceeded by less impaired patients or healthy individuals. Inter- and intra-operator reliability of the assessment protocol has not yet been established. The study was cross-sectional, so it did not track changes in kinematic parameters over time during rehabilitation.
Declared interests
The authors declared no competing interests. The study was supported by non-U.S. government funding.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume this assessment is suitable for all stroke patients. The study only included severely impaired individuals, and the exoskeleton's limited range of motion may not capture the full movement capabilities of patients with milder impairments.