A smart tablet application to quantitatively assess the dominant hand dexterity

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Biomedical Engineering
• Rehabilitation Medicine

Background:

• The Nine-Hole Peg Test (NHPT) is the gold standard for assessing hand dexterity but primarily measures task completion time.
• There is a need for more comprehensive tools that capture both quantitative and qualitative aspects of hand function.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and validate a novel digital graphic test for dominant hand dexterity assessment using a smart tablet.
• To compare the efficacy of this digital test against the established NHPT.

Main Methods:

• Participants drew lines along paths of varying widths on a smart tablet with a stylus.
• The test recorded execution time, path length, and border interactions.
• Results were compared between neurological patients and healthy controls, and against NHPT outcomes.

Main Results:

• The digital test effectively differentiated between neurological subjects and healthy controls across all measured parameters.
• Strong positive correlations were found between the digital test's path length and border interactions with NHPT results.
• A moderate positive correlation was observed between the digital test's execution time and NHPT results.

Conclusions:

• The proposed digital graphic test provides a more informative, quantitative, and qualitative assessment of dominant hand disability compared to the NHPT.
• This digital tool is suitable for use as an outcome measure in clinical trials and for monitoring disease progression in neurological disorders.