Evaluation of Finger Force Control Ability in Terms of Multi-Finger Synergy

In this study, finger force control abilities are quantified by the concept of multi-finger synergy in conjunction with uncontrolled manifold (UCM) analysis. Two indices, namely, repeatability and flexibility, representing features of multi-finger synergy were proposed to overcome the limitation of previously introduced indices, such as floor effects and distortion problems. The proposed indices were applied to stroke patients and healthy adults through specifically designed experiments. The experimental results showed a clear difference between stroke patients and healthy adults. Also, interestingly, there was a difference in an outcome between two-stroke patient subgroups: stroke patients in whom the dominant hand was affected and non-dominant hand was affected groups.