While new therapies are continuously introduced to treat muscular dystrophy, current assessment tests are challenging to quantify, cannot be used in non-ambulatory patients, or can de-motivate pediatric patients. We developed a simple, engaging, upper-limb assessment tool that measures muscle strength and fatigue in children, including children with muscular dystrophy. The device is a bio-feedback grip sensor that motivates children to complete maximal and fatiguing grip protocols through a game-based interface. To determine if the new system provided the same maximum grip force as what is reported in the literature, data was collected from 311 participants without muscle disease (186 M, 125 F), ages 6 to 30, each of whom played the four minute grip game once. We compared maximum voluntary contraction at the start of the test to normative values reported in the literature using Welch’s unequal variances t-tests. In addition, we collected data on a small number of participants with muscle disease to determine if the assessment system could be used by the target patient population. Of the 311 participants without muscle disease that started the test, all but one completed the game. The maximum voluntary contraction data, when categorized by age, matched literature values for hand grip force within an acceptable range. Grip forced increased with age and differed by gender, and most participants exhibited fatigue during the game, including a degradation in tracking ability as the game progressed. Of the 13 participants with muscle disease, all but one completed the game. The study demonstrated the technical feasibility and validity of the new hand grip device, and indicated that the device can be used to assess muscle force and fatigue in longitudinal studies of children with muscular dystrophy.

中文翻译：

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一种基于视频游戏的手握系统，用于测量儿童的肌肉力量

虽然不断引入新疗法来治疗肌营养不良症，但目前的评估测试难以量化，不能用于非卧床患者，或者会使儿科患者失去动力。我们开发了一种简单、引人入胜的上肢评估工具，用于测量儿童（包括肌肉萎缩症儿童）的肌肉力量和疲劳程度。该设备是一种生物反馈握力传感器，可通过基于游戏的界面激励儿童完成最大和疲劳的握力协议。为了确定新系统是否提供与文献报道相同的最大握力，我们从 311 名年龄在 6 至 30 岁、没有肌肉疾病（186 M、125 F）的参与者中收集了数据，每个参与者都进行了四分钟的握力游戏一次。我们使用 Welch 的不等方差 t 检验将测试开始时的最大自愿收缩与文献中报告的规范值进行了比较。此外，我们收集了少数肌肉疾病参与者的数据，以确定目标患者群体是否可以使用评估系统。在开始测试的 311 名没有肌肉疾病的参与者中，除了一名之外，所有人都完成了比赛。当按年龄分类时，最大自主收缩数据与可接受范围内的手握力文献值相匹配。握力随着年龄的增长而增加，并且因性别而异，大多数参与者在比赛中表现出疲劳，包括随着比赛的进行而追踪能力下降。在 13 名患有肌肉疾病的参与者中，除了一名之外，所有人都完成了比赛。