Hand Assessment Device Prototype

The assessment done during physiotherapy is a critical step, since it provides information needed to determine the best possible treatment for the patient. Specifically, hands are essential tools for humans; reason for which developing limitations causes a significant drop in patients’ quality of life. As a result, it is necessary to have tests that record patients’ development in quantitative terms, independent of the physiotherapists’ interpretation. Nevertheless, the instruments used for the task possess limitations that lead to errors during the assessment. Hence, the aim of this work was to develop a device capable of measuring the range of motion (ROM) and grip strength, simultaneously. To fulfil the project’s objective, force and position sensors were analysed, resulting in the selection of the FSR400 for strength and P090 for ROM measurements. All sensors were calibrated to obtain the correct units (Newtons and degrees). Subsequently, the interface was developed using NI LabVIEW. This software allows for fast analog data input and processing, using specialised data acquisition devices (DAQ). Tests for adjustability and accuracy were taken to ensure the correct behaviour of the prototype. Accuracies of 81.62% in ROM and 52.47% in grip strength were found, demonstrating its overall functionality and possibility for improvement.