State-of-the-art clinical assessment of hand function in stroke and cervical spondylotic myelopathy
State-of-the-art clinical assessment of hand function in stroke and cervical spondylotic myelopathy
Western Interdisciplinary Research Building (WIRB)
It is hard to over-state the importance of our hands in daily life. From writing on a piece of paper, to playing the guitar, our hands are the primary means through which we manipulate the environment around us. Nowhere is the importance of the hand most apparent than after an injury from conditions such as stroke or cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM). Despite the importance of the hand, only basic clinical assessment tools are available to evaluate hand function, either to measure impairment after injury, or to assess improvements during rehabilitation. The purpose of this study is to test a newly developed device that can sensitively measure fingertip forces across all 5 fingers and along all movement directions in patients with reduced hand function. We will also test the device in a group of healthy adults.
Both male and female
18+ years old
Healthy Volunteers
Who can participate in this study?
We are looking for healthy, adult volunteers.
- No history of stoke or other neurological condition.
- No history of spondylotic myelopathy (CSM)
- No history of disease or injury affecting hand function.
What is involved?
Participants who are eligible and agree to participate in this study will be asked to attend 2 study visits. Each visit will take approximately 2 hours to complete and will be scheduled within 2 weeks of one another.
Visit 1: Participants will initially undergo a brief cognitive test called the Montreal Cognitive Assessment and the Edinburgh Handedness Test that measures which hand is most dominant. A test of grip and hand strength will be measured by squeezing a small device called an electronic dynamometer. This will be followed by evaluation of dexterous hand function using the newly developed device that can sensitively measure fingertip forces across all 5 fingers and along all movement directions.
Visit 2: Participants will undergo the grip and hand strength testing with the electronic dynamometer as well as the hand function testing using the new device at Visit 2.
Principal Investigator & Posting Dates
Principal Investigator: Jörn Diedrichsen
Study posted on: April 16th, 2019
Recruitment open
Who can I contact to learn more about this study?
Sign Up for Western's Global Cognitive Neuroscience Registry
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