Development of a quantitative hand grasp and release test for patients with tetraplegia using a hand neuroprosthesis

We developed a quantitative grasp and release test for assessing a hand neuroprosthesis in C5 and C6 level tetraplegic patients. The objectives were (1) to determine if a patient's hand performance with the neuroprosthesis exceeded a defined, clinically acceptable baseline, (2) to compare performance with and without the neuroprosthesis, (3) to measure the consistency of performance over time, and (4) to compare performance among patients. In the test, patients grasped, moved, and released one of six different objects as many times as possible in five 30-second trials for each object, with and without the neuroprosthesis. Unlike earlier tests, the objects and the task were chosen to span a range of difficulties appropriate for C5 and C6 tetraplegic patients using a hand neuroprosthesis. Data from five patients showed that performance with the neuroprosthesis was above the baseline; performance improved with the neuroprosthesis, although it was not generally consistent across sessions; and the neuroprosthesis helped C5 patients manipulate most objects and helped C6 patients primarily with more difficult objects.