A PC-based battery of tests for quantitative assessment of upper-limb sensory-motor function in brain disorders

Abstract

Abstracf A comprehensive battery of tests has been developed for quantitative assessment of the upper-limb sensorymotor system. The system is PC-based and replacs an earlier version based around a PDP-11/34. Hardware comprises a 386/486 PC, two screens, and three input devices steering wheel, floor-mounted joystick, and a dlinger tapping sensor. All tests are run and analyzed by the program SMTESTS whkh is menu-driven, flexible, and user-friendly. The test battery comprises tests of visuospatial function, motor function (minimal visual content), and tracking (substantial visual and motor requirements). The utility of the new battery has been ably demonstrated through its application in tbree recent research studies of sensory-motor defKits in Parkinson’s disease and as the central tool in a hospital-based driving assessment program.