Statistical measures of motor, sensory and cognitive performance across repeated robot-based testing.
Leif E R Simmatis, Spencer Early, Kimberly D Moore and 2 others
PMID 32615979WHAT IT FOUND
Repeat testing on a robotic arm platform showed performance often improved due to learning, not recovery.
Clinicians must use task-specific change thresholds to distinguish real skill gains from natural variability and practice effects.
Key findings
01Performance on several tasks improved significantly between the first and second assessment, indicating a learning effect rather than stable baseline measurement.
02Reliability varied widely across tasks, with some cognitive-motor tasks showing fair consistency and pure motor or sensory tasks showing poor consistency between repeated tests.
03The study established specific numerical thresholds for each task to determine if a change in score is statistically significant or just natural noise.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study only included healthy adults, so the variability and learning effects may differ significantly in patients with neurological conditions like stroke. Most participants were young, with a median age of 24-25, which limits generalizability to older adults who may learn or fatigue differently. The results apply only to the Kinarm robotic platform and may not transfer to other assessment devices. Some participants had prior experience with the robot, which could have influenced the learning effects observed.
Declared interests
The study was funded by the Ontario Research Fund, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and GlaxoSmithKline.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret improved scores on the second assessment as evidence of clinical recovery. The study showed significant learning effects on many tasks, meaning patients may get better simply because they have seen the test before, not because their underlying ability has changed.