Article

A clinical measurement study. PurposeTo test the applicability of Fitts' paradigm to grasping tasks in individuals with chronic stroke.
Fitts' Law relates the time of target achievement to task
difficulty in repetitive motor tasks. METHODS: Six male chronic stroke patients
performed repetitive actuation of a grip force dynamometer with their affected
hands for 12 sessions over four to six weeks. RESULTS: Movement times followed
Fitts' behavior with correlations of R(2)>0.8 for all subjects. Grasp control
improved during training, as indicated by an average decrease in Fitts' slope of
26% at high difficulty levels (p<0.05), and decreases in the number of force
corrections and in jerkiness, both at p<0.001 level. CONCLUSIONS: The Fitts' grip
force targeting protocol provides an objective standardized instrument for grasp
proficiency quantification and a potentially efficacious platform for hand
training for persons with stroke. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: N/A.
CI - Copyright (c) 2010 Hanley & Belfus. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights
reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS