KAPS (kinematic assessment of passive stretch): a tool to assess elbow flexor and extensor spasticity after stroke using a robotic exoskeleton.

This was a tool-development study, not a test that KAPS improves patient outcomes or guides treatment. The sample lacked people with high clinical spasticity, so results apply mainly to none-to-moderate levels. The extensors-only group had only 3 participants, making subgroup patterns unstable. Eight healthy controls were removed as outliers, while Table 1 lists 96 healthy controls. The speed order was not randomised and the more affected arm was tested first, which could affect responses. The robot requires specialised equipment, time, and cost, limiting routine clinical use. The study did not measure contracture clinically, so reduced final angle cannot be separated from tissue shortening. The study did not test whether KAPS detects change after anti-spasticity treatment.

Funding was from Ontario Research Fund - Research Excellence and Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario – Technology Development Program. The supplied text reports no author conflicts of interest. The KINARM device is made by BKIN Technologies Ltd.

Do not conclude KAPS diagnoses spasticity or should replace Ashworth and Tardieu scores. It detected abnormal passive movement responses, including in people without clinical spasticity, but the study did not show that these responses change treatment decisions or patient outcomes.