The Arm Movement Detection (AMD) test: a fast robotic test of proprioceptive acuity in the arm.
Leigh Ann Mrotek, Maria Bengtson, Tina Stoeckmann and 4 others
PMID 28659156WHAT IT FOUND
A robotic test that took about twelve minutes separated stroke survivors with impaired arm position sense from those without.
It also detected age-related changes in movement detection threshold, but it did not test treatment benefit.
Key findings
01The Arm Movement Detection test required about twelve minutes to complete.
02Stroke survivors with clinically impaired proprioception had higher Proprioceptive Acuity Scores than stroke survivors with intact proprioception and neurologically intact controls.
03The test was repeatable in controls, with no difference between preferred and non-preferred hands or across repeat sessions.
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 stroke group was small: fourteen participants, split into seven with impaired or absent proprioception and seven with intact proprioception. The study did not test whether Proprioceptive Acuity Scores predict clinically meaningful motor function. Participants had to have enough shoulder range of motion and instruction-following ability, so the findings do not apply to all stroke survivors. Four stroke survivors had received botulinum neurotoxin within three months, and the authors note this as a possible limitation. One stroke survivor with clinically impaired proprioception performed like controls on the robotic test, which may mean the clinical test or the new test misclassified that person.
Declared interests
The supplied text states funding by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. It does not report author conflicts of interest or commercial involvement.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the AMD test as a validated clinical tool for guiding treatment. It was tested in fourteen stroke survivors and did not test whether the score predicts function or treatment benefit.