Quantitative measurement of upper limb motion pre- and post-treatment with Botulinum Toxin

Background: Muscle spasticity is a common motor complication after stroke and brain injury, and Botulinum Toxin is considered effective treatment for upper limb spasticity. However, clinical assessments are not possible to provide the quantitative measurement of changes happening on different upper limb segments. Methods: We aim to develop a multi-sensor system for quantitatively measurement of movement in all segments of upper limb. Five patients under neurorehabilitation were recruited to attend two-session rehabilitation assessment program to evaluate the changes before and one week after the Botulinum Toxin treatment. Results: Clinical assessments all improved in general (Disability Assessment Scale: p < 0.01). Analysis of Kinematic parameters and smoothness quantification parameters showed that number of movement units (p < 0.05 for elbow and wrist), normalised jerk scores improved for all upper limb segments. Conclusions: This study demonstrate that our multi-sensor inertial sensing system can provide additional insights for motion quantification pre and post the Botulinum Toxin treatment.