I think it's a similar principle to biofeedback. It tells the person that they're exerting more or less pressure than they did the last time, so then their brain connects that, oh, when I loosen my wrist a little, my pincer grasp is firmer. When a person works with an occupational therapist doing these tasks, the OT wouldn't be able to tell that by moving the wrist 1mm higher, the person is getting .003 more ounces of pressure exerted, because the OT just can't see or feel these small changes. Of course, the computer also has limitations, because it's not going to be able to see and feel the movements and tell the person that a different way could be more efficient or could avoid injury, or even just smile and tell them that their last throw or catch or grab was awesome. So you still need the OT or PT or SLP or whoever to work with the person in person. But this device assesses some aspects of their movements better than a human can.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
eeka @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM
I think it's a similar principle to biofeedback. It tells the person that they're exerting more or less pressure than they did the last time, so then their brain connects that, oh, when I loosen my wrist a little, my pincer grasp is firmer. When a person works with an occupational therapist doing these tasks, the OT wouldn't be able to tell that by moving the wrist 1mm higher, the person is getting .003 more ounces of pressure exerted, because the OT just can't see or feel these small changes. Of course, the computer also has limitations, because it's not going to be able to see and feel the movements and tell the person that a different way could be more efficient or could avoid injury, or even just smile and tell them that their last throw or catch or grab was awesome. So you still need the OT or PT or SLP or whoever to work with the person in person. But this device assesses some aspects of their movements better than a human can.