Quantitative assessment of arm tremor in people with neurological disorders

Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2016 Aug:2016:2299-2302. doi: 10.1109/EMBC.2016.7591189.

Abstract

Abnormal oscillatory movement (i.e. tremor) is usually evaluated with qualitative assessment by clinicians, and quantified with subjective scoring methods. These methods are often inaccurate. We utilized a quantitative and standardized task based on the Fitts' law to assess the performance of arm movement with tremor by controlling a gyration mouse on a computer. The experiment included the center-out tapping (COT) and rectangular track navigation (RTN) tasks. We report the results of a pilot study in which we collected the performance for healthy participants in whom tremor was simulated by imposing oscillatory movements to the arm with a vibration motor. We compared their movement speed and accuracy with and without the artificial "tremor." We found that the artificial tremor significantly affected the path efficiency for both tasks (COT: 56.8 vs. 46.2%, p <; 0.05; RTN: 94.2 vs. 67.4%, p <; 0.05), and we were able to distinguish the presence of tremor. From this result, we expect to quantify severity of tremor and the effectiveness therapy for tremor patients.

MeSH terms

  • Arm
  • Computer Peripherals
  • Humans
  • Movement
  • Nervous System Diseases*
  • Pilot Projects
  • Psychomotor Performance
  • Task Performance and Analysis
  • Tremor*