A low cost instrumented glove for extended monitoring and functional hand assessment

A wearable finger flexion monitor developed to measure hand function in individuals with hand dysfunction was evaluated for feasibility, measurement repeatability and reliability, fidelity of wireless transmission, and user acceptance. Configuration of the monitor allows use in situations when a traditional measurement glove cannot be worn. Five healthy individuals participated in the study of repeatability, while 10 healthy individuals and 10 individuals with acquired brain injury participated in trials to assess feasibility and user comfort. Repeatability results showed an overall error of 3.4 degrees , compared to 5.5 degrees and 5.7 degrees reported with other sensor gloves, and to manual measurements (5-8 degrees). Intraclass coefficient of reliability (using coefficient alpha) averaged 0.95. User feedback regarding comfort of the monitor was very high. Loss of data during wireless transmission was no greater than 1.2%. Results demonstrate that the monitor has a strong potential to be used as a tool for objective hand function evaluation in the home and community for both short- and long-term monitoring.