Development of a hand tremor quantification device for the measurement of pathological tremor

grantor: University of TorontoHand tremor is the most common and visible symptom of a variety of neurological disorders, including Parkinson's disease. Consequently, the severity of tremor is often used as an aid in diagnosis and a gauge to assess the efficacy of treatment. A hand tremor quantification device, the miniBIRD™/'Tremor Quantifier' system, was designed with the electromagnetic tracker, miniBIRD™ from Ascension Technology, and customized software. The miniBIRD™'s sensor is affixed to the finger and data are acquired through a host computer. The system is set to measure the three main types of tremor associated with Parkinson's disease: resting, postural, and intention. Frequency, amplitude, and area of displacement of tremor (an indication of power) are determined for each set of data. The system was tested to a positional accuracy of (0.031 ± 0.132) cm averaged over a specified range. The frequency measurements were tested against those an accelerometer and found to be comparable.M.H.Sc