Project Details
Abstract
A fundamental goal in neuroscience is to translate the understanding in physiology to
clinical application. Indeed, even though the investigation of neural coding for
spatial-temporal properties of tactile stimulus presented on the skin has advanced dramatically
in the last decade, the assessment method for somatosensory capability in patients with
neurological disorders remains almost the same. It is then of upmost importance to translate
the knowledge of somatosensory research into our clinical practice.
Indeed, K Johnson et al. in their pioneering work in 1981 first proposed the use of
grating domes (dubbed as JVP dome) to replace the use of two-point discrimination by
showing that the discrimination ability of the grating orientation for JVP dome showed a
much superior reliability and validity in the assessment of the tactile spatial acuity in patients
with peripheral nerve lesions. Even though JVP dome has then been applied in a variety of
clinical somatosensory researches, its clinical use is still limited for the following reasons:
The JVP dome assessment is performed manually so that it is manpower intensive; the
application of JVP dome needs manual control of the indentation depth, a requirement that is
difficult to apply; The commercialized JVP dome set has a floor effect and thus could not
cover the discrimination threshold range suitable for patients with severe neuropathy.
In the present study, we propose a novel tactile capability assessment instrument using a
pioneering robotic tactile stimulator we are developing. Specifically, the tactile stimulator
presents tactile motion in one of the two directions and the subject reports the perceived
direction of motion in a two-alternative forced choice design. The stimulator consists of three
independently controlled micro-motors, providing three degrees of freedoms including grating
ball orientation, direction and the depth of vertical indentation on the skin. By varying the
depth of skin indentation, we could manipulate the difficulty of the direction discrimination
task so that the examination can cover a wide spectrum of patient severity. The specific aims
of this one-year project will develop a “prototype stimulator” and will perform “proof of
concept” in healthy subjects and patients with sensory loss. The long-term goal following this
one-year project will be the realization of clinical feasible end-product that will fulfill the
need of clinical use. Compared to JVP dome, the present instrument has advantages as it can
(1) perform tactile evaluation automatically, (2) present stimulus with precise indentation
depth, (3) cover a wider range of patient severities and (4) fathom the capability of
somatosensory system in the motion perception domain.
Project IDs
Project ID:PC10207-0426
External Project ID:NSC102-2314-B182-012
External Project ID:NSC102-2314-B182-012
Status | Finished |
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Effective start/end date | 01/08/13 → 31/07/14 |
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