Applications of the PowerGlove for Measurement of Finger Kinematics

Hand motor control is quite complex and measurement of hand kinematics is therefore of high interest in many fields. A new measurement system based on miniature inertial and magnetic sensors, the PowerGlove, has been developed. In the near future, the PowerGlove will be applied to study finger interdependency in healthy elderly and to objectively quantify hand motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease. To validate and test the feasibility of the PowerGlove for future application Validation experiments with an optoelectronic marker system and pilot experiments in young healthy subjects were performed, specifically focused on measurement of metacarpophalangeal joint flexion/extension (MCP), proximal interphalangeal joint flexion (PIP) and finger tapping. Mean root mean square (RMS) difference between the optoelectronic marker system and the PowerGlove was less than 5 degrees. The results from the pilot experiments showed the feasibility of the PowerGlove to quantify each finger and joint movement in different movement tasks that are of interest for application in aged subjects and Parkinson disease patients.