Highlights
- •We 3D printed a fine motor gripping and manipulating dexterity assessment tool
- •Both methods had good to excellent test-retest reliability
- •It was sensitive to handedness and gripping vs manipulating dexterity
- •A freely available model is available online and costs little to print.
ABSTRACT
Background
Hand dexterity assessments related to fine motor movements are routinely administered
in clinical settings to ascertain an individual's hand function. However, to perform
a detailed assessment multiple devices are needed which can be time-consuming and
costly to administer.
Purpose
We designed and assessed the test-retest reliability of a 3D printed dexterity device
in a cohort of healthy young adults and community-dwelling older adults. This study
examines the reliability of the device, association between perceived fine motor gripping
and manipulation dexterity components, and dominant hand outperformance during both
tasks.
Study design
Test-retest study of a clinical measurement tool.
Methods
A convenience sample of thirty-six healthy community-dwelling older and young adults
was included in our study. The device was used to collect data at two testing sessions
to establish test-retest reliability. Fine motor manipulation dexterity was assessed
by lifting notched pegs over a vertical barrier and inserting them into randomly oriented
holes sequentially. Fine motor gripping dexterity was assessed by taking these notched
pegs out of the holes, lifting them over the barrier and dropping them into a large
container.
Results
Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC)2,1 showed good to excellent test-retest reliability on the dominant and nondominant
hands when using the device. Only modest association was found within-hand for the
gripping versus manipulation dexterity tests. The between-hand motor gripping dexterity
test demonstrated a strong association; however, between-hand the motor manipulation
dexterity test was only moderately associated.
Conclusion
The device was reliable, discriminated between the motor gripping and motor manipulating
dexterity tasks, and was sensitive to handedness during the motor manipulating dexterity
task. It shows promise as a hand dexterity assessment device which may provide efficiency
and cost advantages. It is freely available via http://www.rehabtools.org/dexterity.html.
Keywords
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JHT Read for Credit
Quiz: # 933
Record your answers on the Return Answer Form found on the tear-out coupon at the back of this issue or to complete online and use a credit card, go to JHTReadforCredit.com. There is only one best answer for each question.
- # 1.The authors sought to study the __________ of a new tool for assessing manual dexterity
- a.ease of use
- b.cost implications
- c.construct validity
- d.reliability
- a.
- # 2.One criticism of the traditional method of testing manual dexterity is that
- a.physical therapists, unlike occupational therapists, are not qualified to administer it
- b.it is not cost effective
- c.it involves multiple tools
- d.it is difficult to administer
- a.
- # 3.The primary statistic used was
- a.an ICC
- b.an ANOVA
- c.the Student T-Test
- d.a Kappa
- a.
- # 4.The 3D model was a peg board with
- a.two cardboard trays
- b.a barrier between two trays
- c.identical holes on both sides
- d.round holes on one side and square holes on the other side
- a.
- # 5.The device was NOT able to distinguish between gripping and fine manipulation tasks
- a.true
- b.false
- a.
When submitting to the HTCC for re-certification, please batch your JHT RFC certificates in groups of 3 or more to get full credit.
Article info
Publication history
Published online: June 23, 2021
Accepted:
June 17,
2021
Received in revised form:
May 10,
2021
Received:
December 4,
2020
Footnotes
Conflict of interest: There are no conflicts of interest to disclose other than that the corresponding author (Clark) operates the ad-free website where the device is made available. We also acknowledge this work was supported by the University of the Sunshine Coast internal research grant funds.
Identification
Copyright
© 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
