Assessment of spatial acuity at the fingertip with grating (JVP) domes: validity for use in an elderly population

JVP domes are of a set of small grating surfaces recently introduced for cutaneous spatial resolution measurement. The gratings are placed on the skin and subjects are required to identify the orientation of grooves and bars. The finest grating whose orientations are discriminated reliably (75% correct) provides an estimate of the spatial resolution limit in the tested area. In the present study, we sought to determine the capacity of elderly subjects to resolve such grating stimuli in order to obtain normative data for this population. Thirty-two elderly individuals in good health (range: 60-88 years) were assessed for their ability to perceive grating orientation at the tip of the dominant index finger. Testing proceeded from the widest grating dome (3 mm) to the next (e.g., 2 mm), until the performance level dropped below 75% correct discrimination. The grating orientation task proved to be very difficult for most subjects and only a minority (14/32) was able to provide reliable reports of grating orientation even with presentation of the widest dome available (3 mm). Accordingly, individual grating resolution thresholds were often considerably higher (> 2.5 mm, n = 26) than values previously reported in young adults for the fingertip region (approximately 1 mm). These results suggest that the current set of grating domes may not be adequate for spatial acuity measurement at the fingertip of older adults. New larger grating dimensions should be added to the set presently available to improve their sensitivity for an older population.