A Microcomputer Controlled Hand Assessment System Used for Clinical Measurement

Abstract

To improve the objectivity of clinical assessment of hand function, a microcomputer controlled system of force transducers has been developed and used to study twenty normal subjects and thirty-eight patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. The parameters measured were grip and individual finger forces, pan and kettle handle grip and lift force, key twist torque, lateral pinch force, and individual finger pulp pinch forces. ‘Power’ grip forces were found to be remarkably similar in the left and right hands as indeed was the contribution made by each finger to the total force. Pan grip and lift forces were also similar in left and right hands, but the grip force was far greater than the lift force in both normals and patients. Kettle grip forces were much less than the lift force in normal subjects, while patients gripped the kettle with almost as much force as they used to lift it. Patients were weaker than normals exerting roughly one third of the forces of normals in all modes of measurement. There were different styles of lifting demonstrated by the patient group.