Many neurological and non-neurological diseases are characterized, as a main feature, by a dysfunction in terms of dexterity. Various tests are exploited by clinicians to assess dexterity; among them, the most used is the Nine-Hole Peg Test (NHPT). All validated tests present the limitation of being partially qualitative and subjective. To solve this issue, a new graphic test, SpAcCo (Speed-Accuracy-Coordination), to assess the dexterity of the dominant hand quantitatively and qualitatively, is proposed. The task consists in drawing a continuous solid line in three paths composed by a meander-shaped part (‘meander’), and a second spiral-shaped part (‘spiral’). Only the width of the paths changes; the test is repeated twice by submitting two identical sheets delivered in paper format. Digitalization of the test by means of an Android application is proposed in this Master’s Thesis. The digital version implements the same exact protocol, showing only two paths per sheet. The application substitutes the processing previously performed in MATLAB® for the extraction of parameters like total time, total length, number of touches and number of crossings, giving some advantages in terms of accuracy of results, managing of tests submitted and sharing of the test results. The application has been validated on 68 healthy subjects, divided in three age-groups (‘old’, ‘middle-aged’, ‘young’). As general trend, ‘old’ individuals appeared to be statistically significantly slower with respect to other two groups. All groups showed a discrete learning effect developed between the first and the second execution. From a qualitative analysis, ‘old’ individuals appeared to be less precise with respect to ‘young’ or ‘middle-aged’ subjects, with tendency to commit more ‘errors’ (touches or crossings of borders). The correlation between velocity and age was tested on the entire dataset, leaving aside any grouping of subjects. Spearman’s correlation index resulted to be fair to moderate (0.41 < r < 0.57) for all sub-tests in meander part. No significant correlation was found for any of the spiral parts.
Molte malattie neurologiche e non neurologiche sono caratterizzate, come caratteristica principale, da una disfunzione in termini di destrezza. Diversi test vengono utilizzati dai clinici per valutare la destrezza; tra questi, il più utilizzato è il Nine-Hole Peg Test (NHPT). Tutti i test validati presentano il limite di essere parzialmente qualitativi e soggettivi. Per risolvere questo problema, viene proposto un nuovo test grafico, SpAcCo (Speed-Accuracy-Coordination), per valutare quantitativamente e qualitativamente la destrezza della mano dominante. L’esercizio consiste nel disegnare una linea continua solida in tre percorsi composti da una parte a greca, e una seconda parte a spirale. Cambia solo la larghezza dei percorsi; il test viene ripetuto due volte fornendo due fogli identici consegnati in formato cartaceo. La digitalizzazione del test per mezzo di un'applicazione Android è proposta in questa Tesi Magistrale. La versione digitale implementa lo stesso identico protocollo, mostrando solo due percorsi per foglio. L'applicazione sostituisce l'elaborazione precedentemente eseguita in MATLAB® per l'estrazione di parametri come il tempo totale, la lunghezza totale, il numero di tocchi e il numero di attraversamenti, dando alcuni vantaggi in termini di precisione dei risultati, gestione dei test presentati e condivisione dei risultati. L'applicazione è stata validata su 68 soggetti sani, divisi in tre gruppi di età. Come tendenza generale, gli individui anziani sono apparsi statisticamente più lenti rispetto agli individui più giovani. Tutti i gruppi hanno mostrato un effetto di apprendimento discreto sviluppato tra la prima e la seconda esecuzione. Da un'analisi qualitativa, gli individui più anziani sono apparsi meno precisi rispetto ai soggetti giovani o di mezza età, con la tendenza a commettere più 'errori' (tocchi o attraversamenti di bordi). La correlazione tra velocità ed età è stata testata sull'intero set di dati, tralasciando qualsiasi raggruppamento dei soggetti. L'indice di correlazione di Spearman è risultato da discreto a moderato (0,41 < r < 0,57) per tutti i sub-test nella parte a greca. Nessuna correlazione significativa è stata trovata per nessuna delle parti a spirale.
Development of an Android application for tablets to quantitatively assess the dexterity of the dominant hand
PEZZI, MICHELE
2020/2021
Abstract
Many neurological and non-neurological diseases are characterized, as a main feature, by a dysfunction in terms of dexterity. Various tests are exploited by clinicians to assess dexterity; among them, the most used is the Nine-Hole Peg Test (NHPT). All validated tests present the limitation of being partially qualitative and subjective. To solve this issue, a new graphic test, SpAcCo (Speed-Accuracy-Coordination), to assess the dexterity of the dominant hand quantitatively and qualitatively, is proposed. The task consists in drawing a continuous solid line in three paths composed by a meander-shaped part (‘meander’), and a second spiral-shaped part (‘spiral’). Only the width of the paths changes; the test is repeated twice by submitting two identical sheets delivered in paper format. Digitalization of the test by means of an Android application is proposed in this Master’s Thesis. The digital version implements the same exact protocol, showing only two paths per sheet. The application substitutes the processing previously performed in MATLAB® for the extraction of parameters like total time, total length, number of touches and number of crossings, giving some advantages in terms of accuracy of results, managing of tests submitted and sharing of the test results. The application has been validated on 68 healthy subjects, divided in three age-groups (‘old’, ‘middle-aged’, ‘young’). As general trend, ‘old’ individuals appeared to be statistically significantly slower with respect to other two groups. All groups showed a discrete learning effect developed between the first and the second execution. From a qualitative analysis, ‘old’ individuals appeared to be less precise with respect to ‘young’ or ‘middle-aged’ subjects, with tendency to commit more ‘errors’ (touches or crossings of borders). The correlation between velocity and age was tested on the entire dataset, leaving aside any grouping of subjects. Spearman’s correlation index resulted to be fair to moderate (0.41 < r < 0.57) for all sub-tests in meander part. No significant correlation was found for any of the spiral parts.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
2022_04_Pezzi.pdf
non accessibile
Descrizione: Testo della tesi
Dimensione
5.02 MB
Formato
Adobe PDF
|
5.02 MB | Adobe PDF | Visualizza/Apri |
I documenti in POLITesi sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
https://hdl.handle.net/10589/185991