Abstract
Although various methods of evaluating involuntary movement in the upper extremities have been reported, they focus on the results, rather than process of performance. The function of the upper extremities can be divided into a kinetic one and a controllability.
The author has developed an electric detector to evaluate these upper extremity functions and investigated the quantitative method of evaluation of performance using an FFT analyzer and a microcomputer.
When the sensor of the detector is picked up and held, the pressure on the sensor of the position are recorded continuously. Several parameters can be obtained from these original recordings.
The subjects included 20 patients with involuntary movement in the upper extremities and 20 normal controls. There were no significant differences between the patients and controls in the kinetic functions that could be evaluated by two parameters of the recordings, that is, “rising time” and “time delay”. Therefore, the author has analyzed the power spectrum of the force and position as the evaluation of controllability. Maximum frequency and total power in the power spectrum increased in patients, compared with normal controls. As the load was added to the sensor, maximum frequency and total power increased in controls. This tendency was more marked in the power spectrum of the force. Depending upon the type of disease, differences in the pattern of the power spectrum were recognized. Based on these results, the author plans to develop a more quantitative method of evaluating involutary movement.
