Training Effects of a Novel Biofeedback System on Hand Function for Stroke Patients

Abstract

Stroke patients usually suffer from poor hand function which causes significant inconvenience in their daily activities The abnormal synergy pattern and impaired sensation result in the deficits of force control especially poor digit independence and poor digit coordination Clinically task oriented training is widely used for post-stroke recovery There are also several novel hand coordination trainings had been proposed However there’s still lacking a strongly recommended training method that’s effective and specific for digit force control and finger independence In this study 15 stroke patients voluntarily involved in this experiment Grasping Training System (GTS) with visual biofeedback was used to train and evaluate finger function All subjects finished 12 times 30 minutes training with the frequency of 2 to 3 times per week The training program consisted two parts: (1) stably meet target force and (2) accurately meet target angle To evaluate participants’ hand function improvements besides clinical assessments GTS and Pressing Evaluation Training System (PETS) were also used in evaluation The evaluations were conducted before after and 1 month after training The results showed that subjects’ performance generally improved after GTS training Patients’ digit independence and hand steadiness were significantly improved after training and the training effects could be maintained in follow-up test The temporal coupling between grip force and load force was also significantly decreased Clinical hand function test and grasping and pinch force showed trend of improvement but no statistical difference However the GTS training didn’t have effect on sensory improvement which is reasonable as the training programs were not focus on sensory function Overall GTS provide clinicians and stroke patients an effective and innovative way to train hand function and digit control Moreover it can also be used to quantify patients’ performance which provide clinicians a clearer image of patients’ rehabilitation progress In the future studies can increase the sample size of subjects which can possibly lower the variability of stroke patients Furthermore to make GTS training and evaluation system more widely used in clinics and commercialized the device can be simplified so that it can be cheaper and easier for therapists to operate

Date of Award	2019
Original language	English
Supervisor	Fong-chin Su (Supervisor)