Clinical assessment of capsuloligamentous structures of the glenohumeral joint has been qualitative and subjective in nature, as demonstrated by limited intra- and inter-rater reliability. Robotic devices were utilized to develop a clinically objective measurement technique for glenohumeral joint stiffness. The purpose of this study was to quantify the amount of inferior-direction stiffness of the glenohumeral joint using a safe clinical device in the asymptomatic individuals, and to determine between trial and between session reliability of the robotic device. Twenty healthy subjects were recruited via convenience sampling. Inferior-directed translation and applying force were measured using displacement and force sensors of a robotic device. The stiffness values were calculated as the mean of the slopes of the linear portions of the force–displacement curves for the cycles obtained after familiarization and preconditioning. Four trials for each measurement occasion were averaged to determine the stiffness value for each subject in one session. Repeatability of glenohumeral joint stiffness measurements for between trials and between two sessions was determined using intraclass correlation values and standard error of the measurements. The mean stiffness value was 1.50 N/mm (±0.40) and 1.52 N/mm (±0.40), respectively. The robotic device for stiffness assessment was reliable for repeated measures of stiffness in one session, and between sessions with ICC equal 0.96 (95% CI 0.93–0.98), and 0.97 (95% CI 0.95–0.99), respectively. The SEM between the trials was in each session 0.08 N/mm. The results of this study provide that our robotic technique for quantifying glenohumeral joint stiffness is precise and reproducible.

盂肱关节囊韧带结构的临床评估在本质上是定性和主观的，正如有限的内部和内部评估者可靠性所证明的那样。机器人设备被用来开发一种临床客观的盂肱关节刚度测量技术。本研究的目的是在无症状个体中使用安全的临床设备量化盂肱关节的下向刚度，并确定机器人设备在试验之间和会话之间的可靠性。通过便利抽样招募了 20 名健康受试者。使用机器人设备的位移和力传感器测量下向平移和施加力。刚度值计算为在熟悉和预处理后获得的循环力-位移曲线的线性部分的斜率的平均值。对每个测量场合的四次试验进行平均以确定每个受试者在一次会话中的刚度值。使用组内相关值和测量的标准误差确定试验之间和两次会话之间盂肱关节刚度测量的可重复性。平均刚度值分别为 1.50 N/mm (±0.40) 和 1.52 N/mm (±0.40)。用于刚度评估的机器人设备在一次会话中重复测量刚度是可靠的，并且在会话之间 ICC 分别等于 0.96 (95% CI 0.93–0.98) 和 0.97 (95% CI 0.95–0.99)。每次试验之间的 SEM 为 0.08 N/mm。