Journal article
A palm-worn device to quantify rigidity in Parkinson's disease
T Perera, WL Lee, M Jones, JL Tan, EL Proud, A Begg, NC Sinclair, R Peppard, HJ McDermott
Journal of Neuroscience Methods | ELSEVIER | Published : 2019
Abstract
Background: Parkinsonian rigidity is identified on clinical examination as resistance to passive movement. Measurement of rigidity commonly relies on ordinal rating scales (MDS-UPDRS), however instrumented objective measures may provide greater mechanistic insight. New method: We present a palm-worn instrument to objectively quantify rigidity on a continuous scale. The device employs a miniature motor to flex the third digit of the hand about the metacarpophalangeal joint whilst transducers record flexion/extension forces. We aim to determine congruence with the MDS-UPDRS, investigate sensitivity to the impact of deep brain stimulation (DBS) and contralateral movement, and make comparisons w..
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Awarded by National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Colonial Foundation, St Vincent's Hospital Research Endowment Fund, and the National Health and Medical Research Council [project grant #1103238]. N.C.S. is supported through an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship. We would like to thank Dr. Wesley Thevathasan, Dr. San San Xu, Dr. Simon Little, and Prof. Peter Brown who provided expertise that greatly assisted the research. The Bionics Institute acknowledges the support it receives from the Victorian Government through its operational infrastructure program.