Clinical Utility and Usability of the Digital Box and Block Test: Mixed Methods Study.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Rehabilitation Technology
• Clinical Assessment Tools

Background:

• The Box and Block Test (BBT) is a standard clinical tool for assessing hand dexterity, crucial for monitoring disease progression and therapy outcomes, especially in older adults and neurological patients.
• Digitizing hand function assessments, like the BBT, offers potential for improved data quality and collection efficiency.
• A prototype, the digital BBT (dBBT), has been developed to automatically measure time and display results for the BBT.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the clinical utility and usability of the newly developed digital BBT (dBBT).
• To gather user feedback for future improvements of the dBBT system.

Main Methods:

• Four occupational therapists participated in the study.
• Clinical utility was assessed by comparing dBBT to BBT across acceptance, portability, time, and cost.
• Usability was quantitatively measured using the System Usability Scale (SUS) and qualitatively assessed through a focus group.
• A convergent mixed methods approach was used to analyze both quantitative and qualitative data.

Main Results:

• The dBBT demonstrated superior clinical utility compared to the traditional BBT, with 48% of statements rating it as better.
• Specific improvements were noted in acceptance, evaluation time, and purchase costs.
• The dBBT achieved a high mean SUS score of 83, indicating good usability.
• Participant feedback identified areas for future system enhancements.

Conclusions:

• The dBBT received a positive overall evaluation for clinical utility and usability.
• The study provides valuable insights for refining the dBBT for future iterations.
• Digitizing hand dexterity assessments like the dBBT holds significant promise for clinical practice.