Project R-7694

quantitative assessment of upper limbs impairment in people with neurological diseases (Research)

In Multiple Sclerosis (MS), among a wide range of motor symptoms typical of this disease, a common impairment is represented by upper extremities motor dyfunctions (i.e. reduction of manual dexterity, slower movement speed, incoordination or muscular weakness), which can be present even in the early stages of the disease and appear with increased frequency in case of progressive disease. The evaluation of such limitations is usually performed by means of clinical tools, such as rating scales, observational video analysis or timed tests aimed to assess the performance in fine motor skills and dexterity (Nine Hole Peg Test) or focused on the ability to perform different tasks requiring manipulation or transportation of objects (Action Research Arm Test). However, this approach, in some cases, is not able to fully provide detailed description of the selected movement and to identify subtle yet clinically meaningful changes consequent to rehabilitative treatments. On the basis of the above mentioned considerations, the present proposal intends to perform an extensive assessment of UL motor functions in people with Multiple Sclerosis (pwMS) involved in a rehabilitative treatment. This aim will achieve by means a full-body wearable motion capture method based on miniaturized inertial sensors and a pressure sensitive sensors system in order to obtain information about kinematics of movement and hand-grip force control in MS. The main goal of the project is to provide a robust reliable instrumental support to the clinical evaluation through an accurate description of the functional impairments typical of MS across a range of motor tasks which are recognized to have a strong impact on quality of life of pwM. Particular emphasis will be placed on the description of changes in upper limbs (UL) functional limitations consequent to physical rehabilitation. Also, in order to make easier and faster the data interpretation in clinical practice, the kinematic results will be summarized using summary measures able to describe the overall UL limitations during the execution of functional tasks, using a reduced set of parameters or even with a single value. Such indexes are designed to quantitatively describe the difference between the kinematic data of the tested subject and a reference value obtained from a sample of healthy individuals.

01 September 2017 - 01 September 2017