Evaluation of Motion Segment Size as a New Sensor-based Functional Outcome Measure in Stroke Rehabilitation.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate a novel parameter, motion segment size (MSS), in stroke patients with upper limb impairment and validate its clinical applicability by correlating results with a standard clinical task-based functional evaluation tool.

METHODS

In this cross-sectional study, patients with hemiplegia and healthy controls equipped with multiple inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensors performed Action Research Arm Test (ARAT) and activities of daily living (ADL) tasks. Acceleration of the wrist and Euler angles of each upper limb segment were measured. The average and maximum MSS, accumulated motion, total performance time, and average motion speed (AMS) were extracted for analysis.

RESULTS

Data from nine patients and 10 controls showed that the average MSS of forearm supination/pronation and elbow flexion/extension during full ARAT tasks showed a significant difference between patients and controls and a significant correlation with ARAT scores.

CONCLUSIONS

We suggest that MSS may provide clinically relevant information regarding upper limb functional status in stroke patients.