Development of a Hand Exoskeleton System for Quantitative Analysis of Hand Functions

This paper proposes a hand exoskeleton system for evaluating hand functions. To evaluate hand functions, the hand exoskeleton system must be able to pull each finger joint, measure the finger joint angle and exerted force on the finger simultaneously. The proposed device uses serially connected 4-bar linkage structures, which have two embedded actuators with encoders and two loadcells per finger, to move each phalanx independently and measure the finger joint angles. A modular design was used for the exoskeleton, to facilitate the removal of unnecessary modules in different experiments and improve convenience. Silicon was used on the surface of the worn part to reduce the skin irritation that results from prolonged usage. This part was also designed to be compatible with various finger thicknesses. Using the proposed hand exoskeleton system, finger independence, multi-finger synergy, and finger joint stiffness were determined in five healthy subjects. The finger movement and force data collected in the experiments were used for analyzing three hand functions based on the physical and physiological phenomena.

Changes in motor function in the unaffected hand of stroke patients should not be ignored

Motor function changes in the unaffected hand of stroke patients with hemiplegia. These changes are often ignored by clinicians owing to the extent of motor disability of the affected hand. Finger tapping frequency and Lind-mark hand function score showed that the motor function of unaffected hands in stroke patients was poorer than that of a healthy control hand. After 2 weeks of rehabilitation treatment, motor function of the unaffected hand of stroke patients was obviously improved. Therefore, attention should also be paid to motor function in the unaffected hand of stroke patients with hemiplegia during rehabilitation.

Supplementary motor area deactivation impacts the recovery of hand function from severe peripheral nerve injury

Although some patients have successful peripheral nerve regeneration,a poor recovery of hand function often occurs after peripheral nerve injury.It is believed that the capability of brain plasticity is crucial for the recovery of hand function.The supplementary motor area may play a key role in brain remodeling after peripheral nerve injury.In this study,we explored the activation mode of the supplementary motor area during a motor imagery task.We investigated the plasticity of the central nervous system after brachial plexus injury,using the motor imagery task.Results from functional magnetic resonance imaging showed that after brachial plexus injury,the motor imagery task for the affected limbs of the patients triggered no obvious activation of bilateral supplementary motor areas.This result indicates that it is difficult to excite the supplementary motor areas of brachial plexus injury patients during a motor imagery task,thereby impacting brain remodeling.Deactivation of the supplementary motor area is likely to be a serious problem for brachial plexus injury patients in terms of preparing,initiating and executing certain movements,which may be partly responsible for the unsatisfactory clinical recovery of hand function.

Research on Key Technologies of Hand Function Rehabilitation Training Evaluation System Based on Leap Motion

This paper proposes an immersive training system for patients with hand dysfunction who can perform rehabilitation training independently. The system uses Leap Motion binocular vision sensors to collect human hand information, and uses the improved PCA (Principal Component Analysis) to perform data fusion on the real-time data collected by the sensor to obtain more hands with fewer principal components, and improve the stability and accuracy of the data. Immediately, the use of improved SVM (Support Vector Machine) and KNN (K-Nearest Neighbor Algorithm) for gesture recognition and classification is proposed to enable patients to perform rehabilitation training more effectively. Finally, the effective evaluation results of the rehabilitation effect of patients by the idea of AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) are taken as necessary reference factors for doctors to follow up treatment. Various experimental results show that the system has achieved the expected results and has a good application prospect.

Evaluation of the Curative Effect of "Xingnao Kaiqiao" Acupuncture Based on Brunnstrom Staging on Upper Limb and Hand Motor Function in the Recovery Period after Stroke

Objective: To observe the effects of Xingnao Kaiqiao acupuncture(醒脑开窍针) on the motor function of upper limb and hand in the recovery period after stroke. Methods: Seventy-six cases of hemiplegia patients with ischemic stroke were divided into the treatment group and the control group(n=38 in each). Based on the Brunnstrom's stage of Xingnao Kaiqiao acupuncture combined with rehabilitation training was used in the treatment group, and the control group was given rehabilitation training. FuglMeyer Assessment of the upper extremity(FMA-UE), Action Research Arm Test(ARAT) and Simple Test for Evaluating hand Function(STEF) were adopted separately to compare scores before treatment and 8 weeks after treatment. Results: The difference was not statistically significant in the two groups of patients for comparison of FMA-UE, ARAT and STEF scores before treatment(P>0.05). The difference was statistically significant in the two groups of score comparison of FMA-UE, ARAT and STEF after treatment(P<0.05). Conclusion: The Xingnao Kaiqiao acupuncture has its unique advantages in improving recovery of motor function of upper limb and hand in recovery period after stroke.

Motor imagery training induces changes in brain neural networks in stroke patients

Motor imagery is the mental representation of an action without overt movement or muscle activation. However, the effects of motor imagery on stroke-induced hand dysfunction and brain neural networks are still unknown. We conducted a randomized controlled trial in the China Rehabilitation Research Center. Twenty stroke patients, including 13 males and 7 females, 32–51 years old, were recruited and randomly assigned to the traditional rehabilitation treatment group（PP group, n = 10） or the motor imagery training combined with traditional rehabilitation treatment group（MP group, n = 10）. All patients received rehabilitation training once a day, 45 minutes per session, five times per week, for 4 consecutive weeks. In the MP group, motor imagery training was performed for 45 minutes after traditional rehabilitation training, daily. Action Research Arm Test and the Fugl-Meyer Assessment of the upper extremity were used to evaluate hand functions before and after treatment. Transcranial magnetic stimulation was used to analyze motor evoked potentials in the affected extremity. Diffusion tensor imaging was used to assess changes in brain neural networks. Compared with the PP group, the MP group showed better recovery of hand function, higher amplitude of the motor evoked potential in the abductor pollicis brevis, greater fractional anisotropy of the right dorsal pathway, and an increase in the fractional anisotropy of the bilateral dorsal pathway. Our findings indicate that 4 weeks of motor imagery training combined with traditional rehabilitation treatment improves hand function in stroke patients by enhancing the dorsal pathway. This trial has been registered with the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry（registration number： Chi CTR-OCH-12002238）.

Motor outcomes of patients with a complete middle cerebral artery territory infarct

Detailed knowledge of motor outcomes enables to establish proper goals and rehabilitation strate-gies for stroke patients. Several previous studies have reported functional or motor outcomes in patients with a middle cerebral artery territory infarct. However, little is known about motor outcome in patients with a complete middle cerebral artery territory infarct. In this study, we investigated the motor outcomes in 23 patients with a complete middle cerebral artery territory infarct. All of these patients received comprehensive rehabilitative management, including movement therapy and neuromuscular electrical stimulation of the affected finger extensors and ankle dorsiflexors, for more than 3 months. Motor outcomes were measured at 6 months after stroke onset using the Medical Research Council, Motricity Index, the modified Brunnstrom Classification, and Functional Ambula-tion Category scores. The motor function of the lower extremities was found to be better than that of the upper extremities. After receiving rehabilitation treatments for 3–6 months, about 70% of these patients were able to walk independently （Functional Ambulation Category scores 3）, but no pa-tient achieved functional hand recovery.

Therapeutic benefit of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for severe mirror movements A case report

Congenital mirror movements retard typical hand functions, but no definite therapeutic modality is available to treat such movements. We report an 8-year-old boy with severe mirror movements of both hands. His mirror movements were assessed using the Woods and Teuber grading scale and his fine motor skills were also evaluated by the Purdue Pegboard Test. A 2-week regimen of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation produced markedly diminished mirror movement symptoms and increased the fine motor skills of both hands. Two weeks after the completion of the regimen, mirror movement grades had improved from grade 4 to 1 in both hands and the Purdue Pegboard Test results of the right and left hands also improved from 12 to 14 or 13. These improvements were maintained for 1 month after the 2-week repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation regimen. After 18 months, the mirror movement grade was maintained and the Purdue Pegboard test score had improved to 15 for the right hand while the left hand score was maintained at 13. This occurred without any additional repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation or other treatment. These findings suggest that repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for this patient had a therapeutic and long-term effect on mirror movements.

Determination of Median Nerve Somatosensory Evoked Potentials in 27 Patients with Hemiplegia

Summary: Twenty-seven in-patients with hemiplegia following brain injury were studied by using upper extremity median nerve somatosensory evoked patentials (SVEP), Brunnstrom assessment in hemiplegic hand and assessment of the patients' activities of daily lioing (ADL) (Barthel index). The upper extremity median nerve SEP on the affected and normal sides was determined. By using Kovindha standard, upper extremity median nerve SEP was graded in accordance with N20. The correlation between the differences of SEP N20 amplitude and the latencies on the both sides and the Barthel index scores was analyzed. A Spearman correlation analysis was made between the median nerve SEP N20 grades and Brunnstrom stages in hand or ADL on the affected side. The results showed that upper extremity median nerve SEP grades were positively correlated with those of the Brunnstrom stages in hand (r 1=0.6925, P 1<0.01). The correlation coefficient between SEP N20 grades and patients' ADL grades was r 2=0.5015, P 2<0 01. It was concluded that upper extremity median nerve SEP could be used as a sensitive electrophysiological predictor to clinically assess hemiplegic hand function. SEP N20 might play a role in predicting the ADL of the patients with hemiplegia to some extent, but could not be used as a sensitive predictor to directly observe and predict the ADL of the patients.

作业疗法合并或不合并针刺对痉挛型偏瘫脑瘫患儿上肢疼痛及手功能的干预研究:一个三臂随机安慰对照临床试验

Objective:This study is conducted to investigate the effects of occupational therapy(OT) with or without combined acupuncture for upper limb pain and hand functions among children with spastic hemiplegic cerebral palsy.Methods:A total of 90 patients who met the inclusion criteria were enrolled in a three-arm randomized,placebo-controlled trial,and were allocated to mono-occupational therapy(OT) group(patients=30),OT combined with real-acupuncture(ORA) group(patients=30),and OT combined with placeboacupuncture(OPA) group(patients=30),respectively.In addition to receiving the conventional OT program as the basic treatment for total 8 weeks,patients in ORA and OPA group also received corresponding acupuncture treatment 5 days per week for the first two weeks,3 days per week for the next two weeks,2 days per week for another two weeks,and 1 day per week for the last two weeks.Non-communicating children’s pain checklist-revised scale(NCCPC-R) was used for assessing the upper limb pain among patients.Squeeze dynamometry,modified Ashworth scale(MAS),manual muscle testing(MMT),JebsenTaylor hand function test(JTHFT) and box and block test(BBT) were used for assessing various aspects of upper limb and hand functions among patients.Meanwhile,adverse effects were monitored and recorded.Results:After 8-week treatment,NCCPC-R global scores witnessed a dramatic decline in ORA group(P<0.05),but not in either OPA(P> 0.05) or OT group(P> 0.05).Dramatic increases were identified in both squeeze dynamometry scores and MMT scores in all three groups(all P <0.05).Furthermore,the increases of ORA group were more significant than those of another two groups(both P <0.05).There were no significant changes in MAS global scores in each group(all P> 0.05).The BBT global scores of all three groups significantly increased(all P <0.05) after treatment.Among them,the increase of the ORA group was more than that of the other two groups(P <0.05).The 8-week treatment also had a significant impact on several sub-tests of JTFHT in each group.No significant adverse event was reported.Conclusion:ORA is a potential and promising alternative therapy for mitigating upper limb pain as well as improving both upper limb and hand functions among children with spastic hemiplegic cerebral palsy.