Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 8, 2026
An Objective and Child-friendly Assessment of Arm Function by Using a 3-D Sensor
Published on: February 12, 2018
Development of a new assessment tool for cervical myelopathy using hand-tracking sensor: Part 2: normative values
M Abdulhadi Alagha1, Mahmoud A Alagha2, Eleanor Dunstan3
1Academic Orthopaedics, Trauma and Sports Medicine, Queen's Medical Centre, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2UH, UK.
Purpose:
To set a baseline measurement of the number of hand flexion-extension cycles and analyse the degree of motion in young healthy individuals, measured by leap motion controller (LMC), besides describing gender and dominant hand differences.
Methods:
Fifty healthy participants were asked to fully grip-and-release their dominant hand as rapidly as possible for a maximum of 3 min or until subjects fatigued, while wearing a non-metal wrist splint. Participants also performed a 15-s grip-and-release test. An assessor blindly counted the frequency of grip-and-release cycles and magnitude of motion from the LMC data.
Results:
The mean number of the 15-s G-R cycles recorded by LMC was: 47.7 ± 6.5 (test 1, LMC); and 50.2 ± 6.5 (test 2, LMC). In the 3-min test, the total number of hand flexion-extension cycles and the degree of motion decreased as the person fatigued. However, the decline in frequency preceded that of motion's magnitude. The mean frequency of cycles per 10-s interval decreased from 35.4 to 26.6 over the 3 min. Participants reached fatigue from 59.38 s; 43 participants were able to complete the 3-min test.
Conclusions:
Normative values of the frequency of cycles and extent of motion for young healthy individuals, aged 18-35 years, are provided. Future work is needed to establish values in a wider age range and in a clinical setting.
