Abstract
This paper proposed a method for analysing acceleration characteristics of voluntary movement of a hand that pursued a visual moving target. We calculated acceleration of a hand movement from measured position data by a numerical differentiation with some modification, and analysed the acceleration information both directly and by using a proposed mathematical model. As for a visual moving target signal, we adopted the trajectory which corresponded to an impulse signal of an acceleration of the target movement. By using the proposed method we analysed the data for 31 subjects categorized into 3 groups; 9 patients with celebellar ataxia, 6 patients with Parkinson's disease and 16 normal adults. We obtained the following results both by direct analysis and by using the mathematical model analysis. Normal adults and patients were clearly distinguished by parameters of the dead time of a hand motion. Cerebellar ataxia and Parkinson's disease were shown to be distinguished by parameters which expressed quickness and damping of the impulse response of acceleration.
