Background: As technology has progressed, various robot-assisted devices have been developed to reduce therapists’ labor and assist in therapy. However, due to their many limitations, it is more practical to use traditional mechanical devices. The grahamizer is one such traditional mechanical device used clinically to rehabilitate the upper extremities. No study has yet established the efficacy of the grahamizer in individuals with stroke. Objects: This study investigated the immediate change in arm reaching after the use of a grahamizer. Methods: Twenty-two stroke survivors participated in this study (11 males and 11 females). The reaching of the more-affected arm was measured three times using the three-dimentional electromagnetic motion tracking system “trakSTAR”. After the first measurement, the subjects performed 500 rotatory arm exercises using the grahamizer. To assess the grahamizer’s effect, the subjects were remeasured in the same way. Results: There were significant increases in the reaching distance (p < 0.05) and movement smoothness (p < 0.05) of the more-affected arm after using the grahamizer. Conclusion: Our study confirms that using the grahamizer is beneficial in the rehabilitation for improving movement of the more-affected arm in stroke survivors.

Background: Numerous studies have used smartphone applications to measure the range of motion in different joints. In addition, studies measuring the active range of motion (AROM) of the craniocervical joint have revealed high reliability. However, the subjects in these studies were all healthy subjects. No study has yet been conducted to measure the inter-rater reliability for the AROM of the craniocervical joint in stroke patients. Objects: The purpose of this study was to investigate the inter-rater reliability of the AROM of the craniocervical joint using a smartphone. Methods: The participants included 21 subjects who had strokes (17 males and 4 females). Two raters evaluated six types of craniocervical AROM, including flexion, extension, lateral flexion to the hemiplegic side, lateral flexion to the non-hemiplegic side, rotation to the hemiplegic side, and rotation to the non-hemiplegic side, using a goniometer and a smartphone to investigate inter-rater reliability. The inter-rater reliability was analyzed by intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). Results: The inter-rater reliability of the smartphone was good for extension, lateral flexion to the hemiplegic side, lateral flexion to the non-hemiplegic side, and rotation to the hemiplegic side [ICC(2,k)=.86∼.88] and excellent for flexion [ICC(2,k)=.95]. The inter-rater reliability for rotation to the non-hemiplegic side was moderate [ICC(2,k)=.72]. Conclusion: These results suggest that the smartphone offers high inter-rater reliability for measurements of the craniocervical AROM in patients with stroke.

The purpose of this study were to determine the intra-rater and inter-rater reliability of shoulder passive range of motion measurement using the “Clinometer + bubble level”, a smartphone application and to compare with the intra-rater and inter-rater reliability of measurement using a goniometer. Twenty six patients with stroke were recruited for this study. Two raters measured the passive range of motion of four types of shoulder movements (forward flexion; FF, abduction; ABD, external rotation at 90° abduction; ER90 and internal rotation at 90° abduction; IR90) using a goniometer and a smartphone to determine within-day inter-rater reliability. A retest session was performed thirty minutes later to determine within-day intra-rater reliability. The reliability was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and the standard error of measurement (SEM). The ICC (2,1) for the inter-rater reliabilities of the goniometer and smartphone were good in FF and ABD [ICC (2,1)=.75∼.87] and excellent in ER90 [ICC (2,1)=.90∼.95]. The intra-rater reliabilities for the goniometer and smartphone were good or more than good, with an ICC (3,1) value >.75, the exception was IR90 measured by rater 2 on the smartphone. These results suggest that smartphone could be used as an alternative method tool for measurement of passive shoulder range of motion in patients with stroke.

Ultrasonography (US) is a recent technique that has proven to be useful for assessing muscle thickness and guiding the rehabilitation decision-making of clinicians and researchers. The purpose of this study was to determine the inter-rater reliability of the US measurement of transversus abdominis (TrA), internal oblique (IO), and external oblique (EO) thicknesses for different probe locations and measurement techniques. Twenty healthy volunteers were recruited in this study. Muscle thicknesses of the transversus TrA, IO, and EO were measured three times in the hook-lying position. The three different probe locations were as follows: 1) Probe location 1 (PL1) was below the rib cage in direct vertical alignment with the anterior superior iliac spine (ASIS). 2) Probe location 2 (PL2) was halfway between the ASIS and the ribcage along the mid-axillary line. 3) Probe location 3 (PL3) was halfway between the iliac crest and the inferior angle of the rib cage, with adjustment to ensure the medial edge of the TrA. The two different techniques of thickness measurement from the captured images were as follows: 1) Muscle thickness was measured in the middle of the muscle belly, which was centered within the captured image (technique A; TA). 2) Muscle thickness was measured along a horizontal reference line located 2 cm apart from the medial edge of the TrA in the captured image (technique B; TB). The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC [3,k]) was used to calculate the inter-rater reliability of the thickness measurement of TrA, IO and EO using the values from both the first and second examiner. In all three muscles, moderate to excellent reliability was found for all conditions (probe locations and measurement techniques) (ICC=.70~.97). In the PL1-TA condition, inter-rater reliability in the three muscle thicknesses was good to excellent (ICC=.85~.96). The reliability of all measurement conditions was excellent in IO (ICC=.95~.97). Therefore, the findings of this study suggest that TA can be applied to PL1 by clinicians and researchers in order to measure the thickness of abdominal muscles.