Using a Webcam to Assess Upper Extremity Proprioception: Experimental Validation and Application to Persons Post Stroke

Cornella-Barba, Guillem; Farrens, Andria J.; Johnson, Christopher A.; Garcia-Fernandez, Luis; Chan, Vicky; Reinkensmeyer, David J.

doi:10.3390/s24237434

Open AccessArticle

Using a Webcam to Assess Upper Extremity Proprioception: Experimental Validation and Application to Persons Post Stroke

by

Guillem Cornella-Barba

^1,*

,

Andria J. Farrens

¹

,

Christopher A. Johnson

²

,

Luis Garcia-Fernandez

¹

,

Vicky Chan

³

and

David J. Reinkensmeyer

^1,4

¹

Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA

²

Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center, Rancho Research Institute, Downey, CA 90242, USA

³

Irvine Medical Center, Department of Rehabilitation Services, University of California, Orange, CA 92868, USA

⁴

Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Sensors 2024, 24(23), 7434; https://doi.org/10.3390/s24237434

Submission received: 9 October 2024 / Revised: 9 November 2024 / Accepted: 19 November 2024 / Published: 21 November 2024

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Sensors in Biomechanics and Rehabilitation)

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Abstract

Many medical conditions impair proprioception but there are few easy-to-deploy technologies for assessing proprioceptive deficits. Here, we developed a method—called “OpenPoint”—to quantify upper extremity (UE) proprioception using only a webcam as the sensor. OpenPoint automates a classic neurological test: the ability of a person to use one hand to point to a finger on their other hand with vision obscured. Proprioception ability is quantified with pointing error in the frontal plane measured by a deep-learning-based, computer vision library (MediaPipe). In a first experiment with 40 unimpaired adults, pointing error significantly increased when we replaced the target hand with a fake hand, verifying that this task depends on the availability of proprioceptive information from the target hand, and that we can reliably detect this dependence with computer vision. In a second experiment, we quantified UE proprioceptive ability in 16 post-stroke participants. Individuals post stroke exhibited increased pointing error (p < 0.001) that was correlated with finger proprioceptive error measured with an independent, robotic assessment (r = 0.62, p = 0.02). These results validate a novel method to assess UE proprioception ability using affordable computer technology, which provides a potential means to democratize quantitative proprioception testing in clinical and telemedicine environments.

Keywords: proprioception; computer vision; pointing error; home-based rehabilitation

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MDPI and ACS Style

Cornella-Barba, G.; Farrens, A.J.; Johnson, C.A.; Garcia-Fernandez, L.; Chan, V.; Reinkensmeyer, D.J. Using a Webcam to Assess Upper Extremity Proprioception: Experimental Validation and Application to Persons Post Stroke. Sensors 2024, 24, 7434. https://doi.org/10.3390/s24237434

AMA Style

Cornella-Barba G, Farrens AJ, Johnson CA, Garcia-Fernandez L, Chan V, Reinkensmeyer DJ. Using a Webcam to Assess Upper Extremity Proprioception: Experimental Validation and Application to Persons Post Stroke. Sensors. 2024; 24(23):7434. https://doi.org/10.3390/s24237434

Chicago/Turabian Style

Cornella-Barba, Guillem, Andria J. Farrens, Christopher A. Johnson, Luis Garcia-Fernandez, Vicky Chan, and David J. Reinkensmeyer. 2024. "Using a Webcam to Assess Upper Extremity Proprioception: Experimental Validation and Application to Persons Post Stroke" Sensors 24, no. 23: 7434. https://doi.org/10.3390/s24237434

APA Style

Cornella-Barba, G., Farrens, A. J., Johnson, C. A., Garcia-Fernandez, L., Chan, V., & Reinkensmeyer, D. J. (2024). Using a Webcam to Assess Upper Extremity Proprioception: Experimental Validation and Application to Persons Post Stroke. Sensors, 24(23), 7434. https://doi.org/10.3390/s24237434

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Using a Webcam to Assess Upper Extremity Proprioception: Experimental Validation and Application to Persons Post Stroke

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