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Novel kinematic indices for quantifying upper limb ability and dexterity after cervical spinal cord injury

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Abstract

Loss of motor function is a consequence after cervical spinal cord injury. Three-dimensional kinematic analysis equipments are used for quantifying human movements in clinical laboratories. These systems may provide objectivity to the patient assessments. Nowadays, the kinematic variables found in the literature have some deficiencies, and the efficient management of these data sets is a demand and a challenge in the clinical setting. The aim of the present paper is to propose a set of novel kinematic indices, as a combination of kinematic variables, for quantifying upper limb motor disorders in terms of characteristics in relation to ability and dexterity such as accuracy, efficiency, and coordination. These indices are defined for measuring patients’ motor performance during the activity of daily living of drinking from a glass. This task is included within the upper limb rehabilitative process that patients receive. The main contribution of this research, with the aim of detecting upper limb impairments in patients, consists of the proposal of three kinematic indices from experimental data, whose results are dimensionless and relative to a pattern of healthy subjects. We hope that kinematic indices proposed are a step toward the standardization of the quantitative assessment of movement characteristics and functional impairments.

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Abbreviations

SCI:

Spinal cord injury

ADL:

Activity of daily living

UL:

Upper limb

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Acknowledgments

The research for this manuscript has been partially funded by grant from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation CONSOLIDER INGENIO, project HYPER (Hybrid NeuroProsthetic and neuroRobotic Devices for Functional Compensation and Rehabilitation of Motor Disorders, CSD 2009-00067).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biomechanics and Technical Aids Department, National Hospital for Paraplegics (SESCAM), Finca La Peraleda, s/n. 45071, Toledo, Spain

    Ana de los Reyes-Guzmán, Soraya Pérez-Nombela & Angel Gil-Agudo

  2. Occupational Thinks Research Group, Centro Superior de Estudios Universitarios La Salle (UAM), C/La Salle, 10, 28023, Madrid, Spain

    Iris Dimbwadyo-Terrer

  3. Special Technologies Applied to Telecommunication Department, Higher Technical School of Telecommunications Engineering, Technical University of Madrid, University City, 28040, Madrid, Spain

    Félix Monasterio-Huelin

  4. Neural Rehabilitation Group, Cajal Institute, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), C/Doctor Arce, 37, 28002, Madrid, Spain

    Diego Torricelli & José Luis Pons

Authors
  1. Ana de los Reyes-Guzmán
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  2. Iris Dimbwadyo-Terrer
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  7. Angel Gil-Agudo
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Correspondence to Ana de los Reyes-Guzmán.

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“All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and local research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.”

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de los Reyes-Guzmán, A., Dimbwadyo-Terrer, I., Pérez-Nombela, S. et al. Novel kinematic indices for quantifying upper limb ability and dexterity after cervical spinal cord injury. Med Biol Eng Comput 55, 833–844 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11517-016-1555-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11517-016-1555-0

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