Patients' hand-eye coordination are routinely tracked by doctors to monitor any neuromuscular deficits, particularly as patients age or when they are injured. Despite this, the tests they have been using to track this kind of information may be subjective and qualitative.
Researchers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University, the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and Hebrew SeniorLife, Boston (BIDMC), recently completed the first clinical study of a new rapid neuroassessment device they developed to quantitatively measure neuromuscular performance, as reported online in yesterday's Journal of Gerontology: Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences.
To Prevent Concussions, It is Necessary to Ban Bodychecking in Youth Hockey
It might be necessary to ban bodychecking in youth hockey to prevent concussions
Advertisement
In the study, 150 healthy people from the Boston area aged 21 to 95 used a stylus to follow a moving target around a circle on a computer tablet. As every person performed this tracing task, proprietary computer methods developed at the Wyss Institute measured people's deviations from the circular path, which the researchers then analyzed as a function of age, sex, and handedness. Using this approach, a number can be obtained that can show differences in performance between various individuals or conditions. An older person performs quite differently on the tracing exercise, for example.
"This new tool may hold great potential to augment existing protocols in a doctor's neuromotor assessment toolbox," said Wyss Senior Staff Engineer Leia Stirling, Ph.D., who led the study. "It is portable, repeatable, quick to administer, and easy to perform."
![NFL Not Alone in Handling Concussions as 'Benign' Problems: Health and Law Expert]( "NFL Not Alone in Handling Concussions as 'Benign' Problems: Health and Law Expert")
The National Football League is being sued by more than 2,000 former football players.
Whereas current methods to assess a patient's neuromuscular function include subjective descriptions of a patient's reflexes and cognitive status, the tracing tool could add a slew of new information displayed as a "score". For example, doctors can record a "score" for "complexity," which relates to how well a person can adapt to changes, and "motion fluidity," which relates to how long the patient pauses during the task. Older subjects involved in the study had lower complexity and motion fluidity scores.
Wyss Core Faculty member Ary L. Goldberger, M.D., who is also the Director of the Margret & H. A. Rey Institute for Nonlinear Dynamics in Medicine at BIDMC, introduced the idea of studying complexity in the human body. "We have demonstrated in earlier studies that a loss of complexity is potentially associated with a range of human health issues from congestive heart failure and sleep apnea to aging," he said.
The team envisions a day when the technology - which they informally called "NeuroAssess" -- might be used on the playing field and in doctor's offices worldwide. "One day it might sit next to the thermometer and pressure cuff in the doctor's office," Stirling said. "Just as your blood pressure is recorded during every visit, so could your neuromuscular score be tracked over time to determine progress through recovery and rehabilitation." The same technology could be used to assess off-target neurological side effects in human clinical trials.
Now that the baseline data have been collected from the healthy population of study subjects, the next goal is to determine NeuroAssess' potential to become a quantitative assessment tool for groups of people with neuromuscular pathologies, such as those who suffered concussions or have multiple sclerosis.
The team is currently conducting a study with athletes in the Boston area to determine the sensitivity of the technology in diagnosing concussions.
"The interdisciplinary team who masterminded this new technology represent the best of the Wyss Institute model, which makes it possible for scientists, engineers and clinicians who don't traditionally work together to sit down, dream up game-changing technologies, and more easily and quickly translate them into products for high value applications," said Wyss Founding Director Don Ingber, M.D., Ph.D.
Source: Eurekalert
NFL Not Alone in Handling Concussions as 'Benign' Problems: Health and Law Expert
The National Football League is being sued by more than 2,000 former football players.
Advertisement
Whereas current methods to assess a patient's neuromuscular function include subjective descriptions of a patient's reflexes and cognitive status, the tracing tool could add a slew of new information displayed as a "score". For example, doctors can record a "score" for "complexity," which relates to how well a person can adapt to changes, and "motion fluidity," which relates to how long the patient pauses during the task. Older subjects involved in the study had lower complexity and motion fluidity scores.
Wyss Core Faculty member Ary L. Goldberger, M.D., who is also the Director of the Margret & H. A. Rey Institute for Nonlinear Dynamics in Medicine at BIDMC, introduced the idea of studying complexity in the human body. "We have demonstrated in earlier studies that a loss of complexity is potentially associated with a range of human health issues from congestive heart failure and sleep apnea to aging," he said.
The team envisions a day when the technology - which they informally called "NeuroAssess" -- might be used on the playing field and in doctor's offices worldwide. "One day it might sit next to the thermometer and pressure cuff in the doctor's office," Stirling said. "Just as your blood pressure is recorded during every visit, so could your neuromuscular score be tracked over time to determine progress through recovery and rehabilitation." The same technology could be used to assess off-target neurological side effects in human clinical trials.
Now that the baseline data have been collected from the healthy population of study subjects, the next goal is to determine NeuroAssess' potential to become a quantitative assessment tool for groups of people with neuromuscular pathologies, such as those who suffered concussions or have multiple sclerosis.
The team is currently conducting a study with athletes in the Boston area to determine the sensitivity of the technology in diagnosing concussions.
"The interdisciplinary team who masterminded this new technology represent the best of the Wyss Institute model, which makes it possible for scientists, engineers and clinicians who don't traditionally work together to sit down, dream up game-changing technologies, and more easily and quickly translate them into products for high value applications," said Wyss Founding Director Don Ingber, M.D., Ph.D.
Source: Eurekalert
New Study Could Provide A More Objective Way To Diagnose Concussions
Presently concussions diagnosis is based primarily on the patient's accident history and on clinical examinations that check for symptoms like headache, dizziness and behavioral abnormalities.
Advertisement
 Sports-related Concussions Has Been Picking Up MomentumIn recent months sports-related concussions and mild traumatic brain injuries have grabbed headlines, as the long-term damage they can cause becomes increasingly evident among athletes. | Advertisement
|
Advertisement
Recommended Readings
Latest Research News
Diagnosed autistic individuals showed increased premature mortality in the UK, highlighting urgent needs to address associated inequalities.
Study reveals a correlation between hearing impairment and distinct brain region variances, contributing to dementia.
Financial impact of caring for individuals with neurodegenerative disorders reaches hundreds of billions annually in the United States.
Experts emphasize that addressing the skills gap demands immediate attention and innovative solutions, including education, re-training, and significant time investment.
New study unveiled the cells' ability to adapt in responses and potential implications for conditions such as diabetes and cancer.