Touchscreen-based assessment of upper limb kinematics after stroke: Reliability, validity and sensitivity to motor impairment.

The sample came from one hospital's long-term rehabilitation program and excluded people who could not move distal joints, had poor cognition or comprehension, severe hypertonia, severe sensory loss, or neglect, so it says little about more impaired patients. The results depend on one planar touchscreen reaching task and the selected movement measures; other tasks or measures could give different results. A planar pointing task may not reflect real-world movement, and the study did not show that it does. The touchscreen records only finger touch points, not wrist, elbow, shoulder, trunk, or compensatory strategies. Sensitivity was shown by comparing the two participants with the best and worst upper limb function, not by testing many impairment levels. Some measures, such as time to maximum speed and jerk, had lower repeatability and may need repeated trials.

Funding was provided by the Conselleria d’Innovació, Universitats, Ciència i Societat Digital of Generalitat Valenciana, the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, and Fundació la Marató de TV3, Spain. The supplied text does not report author conflicts of interest.

Do not conclude that this touchscreen assessment improves patient care or detects recovery. The study measured repeatability, correlations with standard tests, and two extreme cases; it did not test treatment effects.