an-instrumented-pull-test-to-characterize-postural-responses

An Instrumented Pull Test to Characterize Postural Responses

Impairment of postural reflexes, termed postural instability, is a common and disabling deficit in Parkinson's disease. To assess postural reflexes, ...

The University of Melbourne

The Bionics Institute

Since the advent of electromyogram recording, precise measures of tremor and gait have been used to study movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease. Now, a wide range of accelerometers and other motion-tracking technologies exist to better inform researchers and clinicians, yet such systems are rarely tested for accuracy or suitability before use. Our inexpensive test-rig can produce sinusoidal displacements using a simple cantilever system driven by a subwoofer. Controlled sinusoids were generated using computer software, and the displacement amplitudes of the test-rig were verified with fiducial marker tracking. To illustrate the use of the test-rig, we evaluated an accelerometer and an electromagnetic motion tracker. Accelerometry recordings were accurate to within ±0.09 g of actual peak-to-peak amplitude with a frequency response close to unity gain between 1 and 20 Hz. The electromagnetic sensor underestimated peak displacement by 2.68 mm, which was largely due to a diminishing gain with increasing frequency. Both sensors had low distortion. Overall sensitivity was limited by noise for the accelerometer and quantisation resolution for the electromagnetic sensor. Our simple and low-cost test-rig can be used to bench-test sensors used in movement disorders research. It was able to produce reliable sinusoidal displacements and worked across the 1- to 20-Hz frequency range. 

A simple and inexpensive test-rig for evaluating the performance of motion sensors used in movement disorders research.

Tremor is a debilitating symptom of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Little is known about its pathophysiology and treatments are limited. Clinical trials investigating new interventions often rely on subjective clinical rating scales to provide supporting evidence of efficacy.

Validation of a precision tremor measurement system for multiple sclerosis.

Parkinsonian rigidity is identified on clinical examination as resistance to passive movement. Measurement of rigidity commonly relies on ordinal rating scales (MDS-UPDRS), however instrumented objective measures may provide greater mechanistic insight.

Article	Year
A simple and inexpensive test-rig for evaluating the performance of motion sensors used in movement disorders research. Medical & biological engineering & computing\| PubMed ID: 26018757	2016
Validation of a precision tremor measurement system for multiple sclerosis. Journal of neuroscience methods\| PubMed ID: 30243994	2019
A palm-worn device to quantify rigidity in Parkinson's disease. Journal of neuroscience methods\| PubMed ID: 30776378	2019

Thushara Perera

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