Reliability of the NK Dexterity Board for assessment of manual dexterity impairment following stroke

Investigators: Ms Kimberly Miller, Prof Mary Galea

The objective of this study was to establish the within session and test-retest reliability, and the clinical utility of a newly developed instrument for assessment of manual dexterity impairment following stroke.

The manual dexterity of 22 subjects was assessed on two occasions separated by a week using the NK Dexterity Board (Fig 1; NK Corporation, USA).   All subjects suffered chronic unilateral paresis as result of stroke(s) a minimum of one year prior to the study and they were capable of picking up objects with their hemiparetic hand.  

Figure 1 . The NK Dexterity Board

Movement and manipulation of small, medium and large objects on the dexterity board were tested separately for each hand using a standard protocol. Motor recovery of the hemiplegic upper limb was also assessed using the Motor Assessment Scale (MAS) and the Chedoke-McMaster Stroke Assessment (CSMA).  

The within session and test-retest reliability of the NK Dexterity Board for assessment of manual dexterity of the hemiparetic upper limb in stroke survivors was extremely high (ICC > 0.85) for all object categories.   Those subjects capable of moving all of the dexterity board objects (16/22) scored a minimum of 4/7 on the upper limb subscales of the CSMA; 3/6 on the upper arm (MAS 6) and hand movements (MAS 7) subscales of the MAS. For the six subjects unable to move all of the objects within each of the object categories test-retest reliability remained high (ICC > 0.90).

The NK Dexterity Board can be used to objectively and reliably assess manual dexterity impairment following stroke.  

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