Grasp Analysis in the Home Environment as a Measure of Hand Function After Cervical Spinal Cord Injury

Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair, 2023 · DOI: 10.1177/15459683231177601 · Published: July 1, 2023

Spinal Cord Injury Neurology Rehabilitation

Simple Explanation

After a spinal cord injury, regaining hand function is a top priority for patients, because hand function is crucial for independence, particularly in activities of daily living. Traditional clinical assessments of hand function may not fully capture how individuals use their hands in real-world settings. This study uses egocentric video to analyze grasp types used at home. The study found that the types of grasps used in naturalistic activities at home are related to upper limb impairment after cervical SCI. This shows that analyzing hand grasps in the home environment is important.

Study Duration

2 weeks

Participants

21 individuals with spinal cord injuries

Evidence Level

Not specified

Key Findings

1
Reliance on power grasp is positively correlated with clinical measures of independence and upper extremity motor function.
2
Increased use of non-prehensile grasping is negatively correlated with clinical scores, indicating a compensatory strategy for those with greater hand impairment.
3
The ability to perform power and precision grasps, as measured clinically, translates to more frequent use of those grasps in the home environment.

Research Summary

This study investigates the relationship between hand grasp types used at home by individuals with cervical SCI and their clinical assessment scores. Egocentric video was used to record and analyze hand-object interactions. The study found significant correlations between grasp types and clinical measures like SCIM, UEMS, and GRASSP, suggesting that grasp analysis in natural settings can provide insights into recovery. The findings support the importance of considering non-prehensile grasps in hand function assessments and highlight the potential for wearable systems to monitor hand function remotely.

Practical Implications

Telerehabilitation potential

Findings may permit the development of new wearable systems to monitor hand function recovery without the need for travel to clinics, for example in the context of telerehabilitation.

Personalized rehabilitation

Understanding grasp patterns in the home environment can aid in developing tailored intervention plans to facilitate recovery.

Comprehensive Assessment

A thorough hand assessment necessitates the examination of hand function using a variety of complementary metrics.

Study Limitations

1
The camera’s weight and heat constantly reminded participants that their activities were being recorded which may cause a bias
2
The majority of participants in this research had a low level of impairment which could limit the generalizability of the results.
3
The research should be further expanded to examine the relationship between hand-grasping patterns and clinical scores in greater detail, emphasizing the need to use detailed hand taxonomies.

Your Feedback

Was this summary helpful?

Back to Spinal Cord Injury