Robotic Assessment of Wrist Proprioception During Kinaesthetic Perturbations: A Neuroergonomic Approach
Position sense refers to an aspect of proprioception crucial for motor control and learning. The onset of neurological diseases can damage such sensory afference, with consequent motor disorders dramatically reducing the associated recovery process. In regular clinical practice, assessment of propri...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2021-03-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Neurorobotics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnbot.2021.640551/full |
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| author | Erika D'Antonio Elisa Galofaro Elisa Galofaro Jacopo Zenzeri Fabrizio Patané Jürgen Konczak Maura Casadio Lorenzo Masia Lorenzo Masia |
| author_facet | Erika D'Antonio Elisa Galofaro Elisa Galofaro Jacopo Zenzeri Fabrizio Patané Jürgen Konczak Maura Casadio Lorenzo Masia Lorenzo Masia |
| author_sort | Erika D'Antonio |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Position sense refers to an aspect of proprioception crucial for motor control and learning. The onset of neurological diseases can damage such sensory afference, with consequent motor disorders dramatically reducing the associated recovery process. In regular clinical practice, assessment of proprioceptive deficits is run by means of clinical scales which do not provide quantitative measurements. However, existing robotic solutions usually do not involve multi-joint movements but are mostly applied to a single proximal or distal joint. The present work provides a testing paradigm for assessing proprioception during coordinated multi-joint distal movements and in presence of kinaesthetic perturbations: we evaluated healthy subjects' ability to match proprioceptive targets along two of the three wrist's degrees of freedom, flexion/extension and abduction/adduction. By introducing rotations along the pronation/supination axis not involved in the matching task, we tested two experimental conditions, which differed in terms of the temporal imposition of the external perturbation: in the first one, the disturbance was provided after the presentation of the proprioceptive target, while in the second one, the rotation of the pronation/ supination axis was imposed during the proprioceptive target presentation. We investigated if (i) the amplitude of the perturbation along the pronation/supination would lead to proprioceptive miscalibration; (ii) the encoding of proprioceptive target, would be influenced by the presentation sequence between the target itself and the rotational disturbance. Eighteen participants were tested by means of a haptic neuroergonomic wrist device: our findings provided evidence that the order of disturbance presentation does not alter proprioceptive acuity. Yet, a further effect has been noticed: proprioception is highly anisotropic and dependent on perturbation amplitude. Unexpectedly, the configuration of the forearm highly influences sensory feedbacks, and significantly alters subjects' performance in matching the proprioceptive targets, defining portions of the wrist workspace where kinaesthetic and proprioceptive acuity are more sensitive. This finding may suggest solutions and applications in multiple fields: from general haptics where, knowing how wrist configuration influences proprioception, might suggest new neuroergonomic solutions in device design, to clinical evaluation after neurological damage, where accurately assessing proprioceptive deficits can dramatically complement regular therapy for a better prediction of the recovery path. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T12:33:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c28861df8f4949e9a4fa882baf49e714 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1662-5218 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T12:33:25Z |
| publishDate | 2021-03-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Neurorobotics |
| spelling | doaj.art-c28861df8f4949e9a4fa882baf49e7142022-12-21T23:45:57ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Neurorobotics1662-52182021-03-011510.3389/fnbot.2021.640551640551Robotic Assessment of Wrist Proprioception During Kinaesthetic Perturbations: A Neuroergonomic ApproachErika D'Antonio0Elisa Galofaro1Elisa Galofaro2Jacopo Zenzeri3Fabrizio Patané4Jürgen Konczak5Maura Casadio6Lorenzo Masia7Lorenzo Masia8Assistive Robotics and Interactive Exosuits (ARIES) Laboratory, Institute of Computer Engineering (ZITI), University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, GermanyAssistive Robotics and Interactive Exosuits (ARIES) Laboratory, Institute of Computer Engineering (ZITI), University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, GermanyDepartment of Informatics, Bioengineering, Robotics, and System Engineering (DIBRIS), University of Genoa, Genoa, ItalyRobotics, Brain, and Cognitive Sciences Unit, Italian Institute of Technology, Genoa, ItalyMechanical Measurements and Microelectronics (M3Lab) Lab, Engineering Department, University Niccolò Cusano, Rome, ItalyHuman Sensorimotor Control Laboratory, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United StatesDepartment of Informatics, Bioengineering, Robotics, and System Engineering (DIBRIS), University of Genoa, Genoa, ItalyAssistive Robotics and Interactive Exosuits (ARIES) Laboratory, Institute of Computer Engineering (ZITI), University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, GermanyFaculty of Engineering, The Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Institute, University of Southern Denmark (SDU), Odense, DenmarkPosition sense refers to an aspect of proprioception crucial for motor control and learning. The onset of neurological diseases can damage such sensory afference, with consequent motor disorders dramatically reducing the associated recovery process. In regular clinical practice, assessment of proprioceptive deficits is run by means of clinical scales which do not provide quantitative measurements. However, existing robotic solutions usually do not involve multi-joint movements but are mostly applied to a single proximal or distal joint. The present work provides a testing paradigm for assessing proprioception during coordinated multi-joint distal movements and in presence of kinaesthetic perturbations: we evaluated healthy subjects' ability to match proprioceptive targets along two of the three wrist's degrees of freedom, flexion/extension and abduction/adduction. By introducing rotations along the pronation/supination axis not involved in the matching task, we tested two experimental conditions, which differed in terms of the temporal imposition of the external perturbation: in the first one, the disturbance was provided after the presentation of the proprioceptive target, while in the second one, the rotation of the pronation/ supination axis was imposed during the proprioceptive target presentation. We investigated if (i) the amplitude of the perturbation along the pronation/supination would lead to proprioceptive miscalibration; (ii) the encoding of proprioceptive target, would be influenced by the presentation sequence between the target itself and the rotational disturbance. Eighteen participants were tested by means of a haptic neuroergonomic wrist device: our findings provided evidence that the order of disturbance presentation does not alter proprioceptive acuity. Yet, a further effect has been noticed: proprioception is highly anisotropic and dependent on perturbation amplitude. Unexpectedly, the configuration of the forearm highly influences sensory feedbacks, and significantly alters subjects' performance in matching the proprioceptive targets, defining portions of the wrist workspace where kinaesthetic and proprioceptive acuity are more sensitive. This finding may suggest solutions and applications in multiple fields: from general haptics where, knowing how wrist configuration influences proprioception, might suggest new neuroergonomic solutions in device design, to clinical evaluation after neurological damage, where accurately assessing proprioceptive deficits can dramatically complement regular therapy for a better prediction of the recovery path.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnbot.2021.640551/fullproprioceptionrobotic assessmentmulti-jointstatic perturbationmotor controlbiomechanics |
| spellingShingle | Erika D'Antonio Elisa Galofaro Elisa Galofaro Jacopo Zenzeri Fabrizio Patané Jürgen Konczak Maura Casadio Lorenzo Masia Lorenzo Masia Robotic Assessment of Wrist Proprioception During Kinaesthetic Perturbations: A Neuroergonomic Approach Frontiers in Neurorobotics proprioception robotic assessment multi-joint static perturbation motor control biomechanics |
| title | Robotic Assessment of Wrist Proprioception During Kinaesthetic Perturbations: A Neuroergonomic Approach |
| title_full | Robotic Assessment of Wrist Proprioception During Kinaesthetic Perturbations: A Neuroergonomic Approach |
| title_fullStr | Robotic Assessment of Wrist Proprioception During Kinaesthetic Perturbations: A Neuroergonomic Approach |
| title_full_unstemmed | Robotic Assessment of Wrist Proprioception During Kinaesthetic Perturbations: A Neuroergonomic Approach |
| title_short | Robotic Assessment of Wrist Proprioception During Kinaesthetic Perturbations: A Neuroergonomic Approach |
| title_sort | robotic assessment of wrist proprioception during kinaesthetic perturbations a neuroergonomic approach |
| topic | proprioception robotic assessment multi-joint static perturbation motor control biomechanics |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnbot.2021.640551/full |
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