An At-Home Stroke Rehabilitation Tracker for Upper-Limb Function and Interjoint Coordination

Stroke is the fourth leading cause of disability worldwide, and it is therefore a global health problem. In developed countries, stroke is the leading cause of disability and the second leading cause of death. The disease occurs when blood supply to part of the brain is blocked or when a blood vessel in the brain bursts. About 85% of stroke survivors experience some degree of paresis of the upper limb, and about 50% of the survivors show impaired upper limb and hand function in the chronic phase. Because such a high proportion of stroke patients experience some degree of upper limb impairment, measurement of upper limb function is paramount for diagnosis of symptoms and evaluating efficacy of rehabilitation interventions. However, assessment of stroke rehabilitation is unfortunately lacking in the clinic. Despite the availability of comprehensive tests of upper limb function like the Fugl-Meyer Test, these tests are not frequently used in weekly clinic visits due to time constraints and burden on the patient. As a result, clinicians often favor faster and simpler tests like the Nine Hole Peg Test, which are limited in their assessments of upper limb function. Thus, there is potential in developing assessments for the home environment to reduce patient burden and time spent in clinic while still producing comprehensive data about patient recovery. The intention of this project is to develop such an assessment platform for at-home assessment of upper limb stroke rehabilitation.