The New Jersey Institute of Technology's
Electronic Theses & Dissertations Project

Title:	Measurement of finger coordination during a motor learning task
Author:	Ebel, Robert
View Online:	njit-etd2017-066 (xi, 40 pages ~ 1.1 MB pdf)
Department:	Department of Biomedical Engineering
Degree:	Master of Science
Program:	Biomedical Engineering
Document Type:	Thesis
Advisory Committee:	Adamovich, Sergei (Committee chair) Foulds, Richard A. (Committee member) Sahin, Mesut (Committee member)
Date:	2017-05
Keywords:	Whole hand grasp strategy Isometric force control learning tasks
Availability:	Unrestricted
Abstract:	The focus of this study is to observe the changes in whole hand grasp strategy, in healthy subjects, over time in a series of isometric force control learning tasks. During a series of trials with real-time visual feedback of the five finger forces, subjects adapted their grasp strategy in order to reach the target in a time efficient manner. In early trials, it is very evident that subjects focus on controlling the force output of one finger at a time until they reach the goal. As the block of trials progresses, subjects alter their strategy to a more coordinated movement to reach the target faster as they learn the coordination task. Throughout the study, forces are measured using a custom designed force measurement device. Many stroke patients do not fully recover hand function after a stroke. It has previously been shown that stroke subjects have an increase in finger enslavement or an increase in unintended force production between adjacent fingers. Ideally, using a force measurement device and a grasp shaping task, as described here, could translate to a therapy for stroke subjects enabling a faster recovery and greater finger independence.