This paper proposes a novel measurement and evaluation system of finger tapping movements for diagnosis support and assessment of motor function. In this system, finger movements are measured using magnetic sensors, and the eleven indices such as finger tapping interval and maximum amplitude of finger taps are computed for evaluating the motor function associated with the measured finger taps. The radar charts of the evaluation indices and phase plane trajectories of measured finger movements are then displayed on a monitor in real-time. Therefore, the user can intuitively understand the feature of finger tapping movements. The effectiveness of the proposed evaluation indices was demonstrated by comparing the finger movements of Parkinson's disease patients and those of normal subjects. From the results, we found that all the indices except the average of finger tapping interval differ significantly between 16 patients with Parkinson's disease and 32 normal elderly subjects (p<0.05). Consequently, it is confirmed that the proposed system can quantitatively evaluate the motor function of finger tapping movements.
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