Reliability of a Novel Video-Based Method for Assessing Age-Related Changes in Motoric Function

Authors

• D Pupo
• J Kakareka
• J Krynitsky
• T Pohida
• B Harvey
• S Studenksi

Abstract

The early detection of age-related movement disorders could aid diagnosis and treatment, but current assessments vary and have limited ability to detect and discriminate such disorders. We describe the development and reliability assessment of the Hand-Arm Movement Monitoring System (HAMMS), which measures velocity, acceleration, and accuracy, in addition to several other factors from a video-based data acquisition system for hand motion. The aims of the current study were to 1) determine the test-retest reliability of the device and 2) examine validity by evaluating the effect of age on HAMMS-related metrics. We assessed 112 participants from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA), who performed HAMMS testing of a repetitive motion task, twice during a single session. The test-retest reliability for the HAMM system was highly reliable, with an intra-class correlation (ICC) ranging from 0.80 - 0.87. Average velocity, average acceleration and mean accuracy all had positive correlations with age. Using a variation of Sholl’s analysis of the hand motion path, we observed an age-dependent decrease in the average number of points within an ideal motion path. The HAMMS system identified an age-related reduction in control of hand-arm movement in older individuals. The reliability, flexibility, and programmability of the HAMMS make this video-based diagnostic platform a potential tool for effectively evaluating longitudinal changes in hand-arm related movements.

Scientific Focus Area: Neuroscience

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