WO2025210847A1 - Finger motion excessiveness evaluation method, and computer program and device associated with same - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided are a finger motion excessiveness evaluation method that can be used to quantitatively evaluate the excessiveness of finger motions by means of a simple measurement, and easily make a determination regarding adaptation to splint therapy, and a computer program and a device associated with the method.　A finger motion excessiveness evaluation method according to the present invention comprises: a measurement step S1 for measuring a finger tapping motion, which is an opening/closing motion of two fingers, for both left and right fingers on a healthy side and an affected side of a subject; a calculation step S3 for calculating an opening width left/right difference ratio, obtained by dividing the value of the maximum opening width between the two fingers on the affected side by the value of the maximum opening width on the healthy side, and calculating an opening speed left/right difference ratio, obtained by dividing the value of the maximum opening speed between the two fingers on the affected side by the value of the maximum opening speed on the healthy side, on the basis of the measurement data; and determination steps S5, S7, S8 for determining that the subject belongs to an excessive motion group when both the opening width left/right difference ratio and the opening speed left/right difference ratio are equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, determining that the subject belongs to a motion restricted group when both the opening width left/right difference ratio and the opening speed left/right difference ratio are less than the predetermined threshold, and determining that the subject belongs to a control group when one of the opening width left/right difference ratio or the opening speed left/right difference ratio is less than the predetermined threshold and the other is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold.

Description

Method for assessing finger hypermobility, computer program and device associated with said method

The present invention relates to a method for assessing excessive finger movement, particularly a method suitable for determining whether splint therapy is appropriate for conditions such as CM joint arthropathy of the thumb, as well as a computer program and device that accompany this method.

A variety of treatments have traditionally been used for motor disorders of the upper limbs, particularly the fingers.

For example, in the case of arthritis of the fingers, particularly that of the thumb C-CM joint, conservative treatments that have been shown to be effective include splint therapy, which uses a splint (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2) to immobilize the thumb C-CM joint in a limited manner to prevent excessive movement of the affected area and reduce inflammatory symptoms without interfering with use in ADL (Activities of Daily Living), manual therapy to strengthen the first dorsal interosseous muscle and opponens pollicis muscle, and injection therapy, which uses steroid injections to reduce inflammation.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-218781 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2022-034783

The aforementioned splint therapy, manual therapy, or injection therapy is selected after a comprehensive assessment based primarily on interviews and questionnaires to obtain evaluation data on various evaluation items for thumb C-Medullary Joint Arthritis, including ROM (Range of Motion) (thumb MP joint, IP joint, and palmar radial abduction/adduction angle of C-Medullary Joint), Pinch (Tip (finger tip pinch), Palmar (Pulp) (palmar pulp pinch), Key (Lateral) (finger lateral pinch)), pain intensity (VAS (Visual Analogue Scale) at rest, VAS during movement), disability (Hand 20, Q-DASH), and kinesiophobia (TSK-11).

However, when it comes to splint therapy, which is used to suppress excessive movement, it is difficult to determine whether it is appropriate, as it is difficult to detect excessive movement using evaluation methods such as interviews and questionnaires. Furthermore, there is no standardization of the shape and type of splint used in splint therapy, and although various tests have been conducted to verify its effectiveness, the current situation is that no evidence has been established.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above circumstances, and aims to provide a method for assessing finger hypermobility that can quantitatively evaluate excessive finger movement through simple measurements, and ultimately makes it easy to determine whether splint therapy is appropriate, as well as a computer program and device that accompany this method.

In order to solve the above problems, the method for evaluating finger hypermobility of the present invention includes:
a measuring step of measuring finger tapping movements, which are opening and closing movements of two fingers, for both the healthy and affected fingers of the subject;
a calculation step of calculating a right-left difference ratio of the maximum finger-opening width by dividing the value of the maximum finger-opening width on the affected side by the value of the maximum finger-opening width on the healthy side based on the measurement data obtained by the measurement step, and calculating a right-left difference ratio of the maximum finger-opening speed by dividing the value of the maximum finger-opening speed on the affected side by the value of the maximum finger-opening speed on the healthy side based on the measurement data obtained by the measurement step;
a determination step of determining that the subject belongs to an excessive movement group in which the subject makes excessive finger movements when the left-right difference ratio of the mouth width and the left-right difference ratio of the mouth speed calculated in the calculation step are both equal to or greater than predetermined thresholds, determining that the subject belongs to a movement restriction group in which the subject restricts finger movements by himself when the left-right difference ratio of the mouth width and the left-right difference ratio of the mouth speed are both less than the predetermined thresholds, and determining that the subject belongs to a control group in which the subject can appropriately control finger movements by himself when either the left-right difference ratio of the mouth width or the left-right difference ratio of the mouth speed is less than the predetermined threshold and the other is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold;
The present invention is characterized by comprising:

The above-described configuration of the present invention focuses on the maximum finger gap and maximum finger gap speed, which are characteristic quantities that can be considered direct indicators of the degree of finger movement, and evaluates finger movement based on the ratio between the healthy and affected sides using these as parameters. Specifically, the finger tapping movement, which is the opening and closing movement of two fingers, is measured for the fingers on both the healthy and affected sides of the subject, and based on this measurement data, the ratio of the maximum finger gap and maximum finger gap speed divided by the affected side (left-right gap gap ratio and left-right gap gap speed ratio) is calculated. The calculated ratio is used to capture the subject's finger movement state, making it possible to accurately determine whether finger movement is excessive (to quantitatively evaluate with high accuracy).

In particular, with the above configuration, if the left-right difference ratio of mouth opening width and the left-right difference ratio of mouth opening speed are both above a predetermined threshold, the subject is determined to belong to the excessive movement group, in which the subject is performing excessive finger movement; if the left-right difference ratio of mouth opening width and the left-right difference ratio of mouth opening speed are both below a predetermined threshold, the subject is determined to belong to the movement restriction group, in which the subject is restricting their own finger movement; and if either the left-right difference ratio of mouth opening width or the left-right difference ratio of mouth opening speed is below the predetermined threshold and the other is above the predetermined threshold, the subject is determined to belong to the control group, in which the subject is able to appropriately control their own finger movement. This makes it possible to selectively assign conventional treatments such as splint therapy, manual therapy, or injection therapy to the subject depending on their current finger movement state, contributing to the realization of efficient and effective treatment.

Furthermore, since the left-right difference ratio in jaw opening width and left-right difference ratio in jaw opening speed between the healthy and affected sides are effective indicators for detecting excessive mobility, it will be possible to determine the suitability of splint therapy, particularly for arthritis of the CM joint of the thumb, with greater accuracy than before.

In the above configuration, "maximum opening width" refers to the maximum separation distance between two fingers, and refers to the maximum opening width at any time, or the average value of the maximum opening width (maximum point of the distance between two fingers) within a specified time. In the above configuration, "maximum opening speed" refers to the maximum speed at which two fingers separate, and refers to the maximum opening speed at any time, or the average value of the maximum opening speed (maximum point of the speed at which two fingers separate) within a specified time.

Furthermore, in the above configuration, the measurement step of measuring finger tapping movement, which is the opening and closing movement of two fingers, can use any measurement method as long as it can measure finger tapping movement. For example, it can be a measurement method using magnetic sensors attached to two fingers, or a measurement method that processes image data obtained by photographing the finger movements, or a measurement method based on detecting the movement of the fingers tapping on the touch panel.

Furthermore, in the above configuration, it is preferable that the "predetermined threshold" be within the range of 0.25 to 2.5 (for example, around 1). Through many years of research, the inventors have accumulated a large amount of empirical data, and based on that, they have found that setting this threshold range is effective in determining whether splint therapy is appropriate, particularly for thumb CM joint arthropathy. In other words, significant differences were observed between the hypermobility group, the movement-restricted group, and the control group, with this threshold range as the boundary. Incidentally, no significant differences were observed between the hypermobility group, the movement-restricted group, and the control group, regardless of the threshold, for VAS, Hand 20, TSK, Pinch, grip strength, etc. Therefore, in the above configuration, it is preferable that the judgment step determine that the subject's finger movement disorder is appropriate for splint therapy, which involves limited immobilization of the affected area with a splint, if the subject belongs to the hypermobility group at a threshold within this numerical range.

In addition to the aforementioned finger hypermobility assessment method (for example, by computer processing according to a predetermined algorithm, etc.), the present invention also provides a computer program that causes a computer to execute the method, and a finger hypermobility assessment device that can execute the method.

The finger hypermobility assessment method, computer program, and device of the present invention enable quantitative assessment of finger hypermobility through simple measurements, thereby facilitating the determination of whether splint therapy is appropriate.

1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a finger hyperactivity evaluation device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing both hands of a subject with tapping sensors attached to the thumbs and index fingers. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of a finger hypermobility evaluation method according to an embodiment of the present invention that can be executed by the finger hypermobility evaluation device of FIG. 1 . 10 is an example of finger tapping movement waveform data showing changes over time in the distance between two fingers (opening width between two fingers) obtained by measurement using a tapping sensor. 10 is an example of finger tapping movement waveform data obtained by measurement using a tapping sensor, showing the change over time in the speed (opening speed and closing speed between two fingers) when two fingers move apart or approach each other. (a) is an example of finger tapping movement waveform data obtained by measurement using a tapping sensor, showing the change over time in the inter-finger distance (opening width between the two fingers) of the affected finger; (b) is an example of finger tapping movement waveform data obtained by measurement using a tapping sensor, showing the change over time in the inter-finger distance (opening width between the two fingers) of the healthy finger. 10 shows a classification table for classifying subjects into three groups based on a comparison of the right-left difference ratio of mouth opening width and the right-left difference ratio of mouth opening speed with a threshold value.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, by providing the technology described below, highly advanced technology contributes to the development of medical care and the realization of a healthy society. By realizing this finger hypermobility assessment method (device and computer program), we will contribute to "9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization, inclusive and sustainable technological development" of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) advocated by the United Nations.

Furthermore, in the following embodiments, a method (apparatus) for assessing finger hypermobility is described, but the present invention may also be configured as a computer program that enables a computer to perform the processing executed by the method (apparatus) for assessing finger hypermobility.

FIG. 1 shows the general configuration of a finger hypermobility assessment device 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown, this finger hypermobility assessment device 1 comprises a measurement unit 10 having a tapping sensor 2 that magnetically detects finger tapping movements, which are the opening and closing movements of two fingers on both the healthy and affected sides of the subject's left and right hands, and a processor 30 that processes the measurement data measured by the measurement unit 10.

The measurement unit 10 measures finger movement data based on the relative distance between a pair of transmitter and receiver coils attached to a living finger (or other moving part), and, for example, works alone or in cooperation with a calculation circuit described below to obtain time-series information on the subject's finger movement, enabling the subject's movement information relating to at least one of distance, speed, acceleration, and jerk (acceleration differentiated with respect to time) to be obtained as time-series data (waveform data). Figures 4 to 6 show examples of such time-series (waveform) data.

In this case, Figure 4 shows an example of finger tapping movement waveform data, obtained by measurement using the tapping sensor 2, showing the change over time in the distance between the two fingers (opening width between the two fingers). From this waveform data, the maximum point P1 of the distance between the two fingers at any time can be obtained, and therefore the maximum opening width W, which is the maximum separation distance between the two fingers at any time, the average value of the maximum opening width W within a specified time, the time T during which the subject hesitates to continue the tapping movement and stops moving their fingers (the time during which the two fingers are in contact with each other or the time during which the relative movement between the two fingers is stopped), and its average value can be obtained.

Figure 5 shows an example of finger tapping movement waveform data obtained by measurement using the tapping sensor 2, showing changes over time in the speed at which two fingers move apart or towards each other (opening speed and closing speed between two fingers). Here, positive speeds indicate the speed at which two fingers move apart (opening speed), and negative speeds indicate the speed at which two fingers move towards each other (closing speed). From this waveform data, the maximum point P2 of the opening speed (opening speed) between two fingers and the maximum point P3 of the closing speed between two fingers at any time can be obtained. Therefore, it is possible to obtain the maximum opening speed V, which is the maximum speed at which two fingers move apart at any time, the average value of the maximum opening speed V within a specified time, the maximum closing speed, which is the maximum speed at which two fingers move towards each other at any time, and the average value of the maximum closing speed within a specified time. Of course, such waveform data can be obtained on both the healthy and affected sides.

In addition, Figure 6 shows a comparison of the waveform data in Figure 4 between the healthy and affected sides. Figure 6(a) shows an example of finger tapping movement waveform data obtained by measurement with the tapping sensor 2, which shows the change over time in the inter-finger distance (opening width between the two fingers) of the fingers on the affected side, and Figure 6(b) shows an example of finger tapping movement waveform data obtained by measurement with the tapping sensor 2, which shows the change over time in the inter-finger distance (opening width between the two fingers) of the fingers on the healthy side. It can be seen that while freezing phenomenon A is observed over a certain period of time in the data from the affected side, there is almost no clear freezing phenomenon observed on the healthy side.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the measurement unit 10 comprises a tapping sensor 2, first and second switching circuits 4 and 5, an AC generator 6 for generating AC, an amplifier/filter circuit 7, an A/D converter 8, a detector 9, a downsampler 10 for downsampling, and a controller 11 for controlling the operation of these components.

The tapping sensor 2 consists of a pair of a transmitter coil 2A (2A') and a receiver coil 2B (2B') (or multiple rows of coil pairs), and is attached to the fingers (e.g., nails) of the subject's hand 100 (100A, 100A') using, for example, double-sided tape or a fixing band, as shown in FIG. 2. Specifically, in FIG. 2, a pair of a transmitter coil 2A and a receiver coil 2B is attached to the thumb 100a and index finger 100b of the subject's right hand 100A, and a pair of a transmitter coil 2A' and a receiver coil 2B' is attached to the thumb 100a and index finger 100b of the subject's left hand 100A' (the fingers on which the coils are attached may be reversed, or other fingers may be attached). In this case, the transmitter coil 2A (2A') emits a magnetic field, and the receiver coil 2B (2B') receives (detects) the magnetic field emitted by the transmitter coil 2A (2A').

One AC generator 6 is connected to the transmitter coil 2A (2A') via the first switching circuit 4. Through the switching operation of the first switching circuit 4, AC current (e.g., 20 kHz current) from the AC generator 6 flows sequentially through the transmitter coil 2A (2A'), causing the transmitter coil 2A (2A') through which the AC current flows to generate an AC magnetic field. The AC generator 6 generates AC current of a predetermined frequency, and the timing of the current flow is controlled by the controller 11. The signal generated by the AC generator 6 is used as a reference signal for the detection operation of the detector 9.

The controller 11 generates a synchronization signal to control the first and second switching circuits 4 and 5. This synchronization signal allows the first switching circuit 4 and the second switching circuit 5 to switch simultaneously, operating sequentially for each pair of transmitting coil 2A (2A') and receiving coil 2B (2B').

The receiving coil 2B (2B') is also connected to the amplifier/filter circuit 7 via the second switching circuit 5, and the output signal from the amplifier/filter circuit 7 is converted to a digital signal by the A/D converter 8, which is then transmitted to the detector 9. The conversion of analog data by the A/D converter 8 into digital data facilitates subsequent processing (downsampling, etc.). The detector 9 also performs processing to remove a predetermined period of the AC magnetic field waveform (noise portion) detected by the receiving coil 2B (2B') immediately after switching by the second switching circuit 5.

Furthermore, the time of the deletion process in the AC magnetic field waveform of each receiving coil 2B (2B') is precisely controlled by the controller 11. After this deletion process, the detector 9 performs full-wave rectification and filtering (mainly processing using a low-pass filter (LPF)) using the reference signal described above. Finally, the digital signal processed by the detector 9 is converted (downsampled) by the downsampler 10 into coarse data with a sampling frequency (e.g., 200 Hz) that is approximately 1/1000 (a predetermined ratio) of the sampling frequency (e.g., 200 kHz) of the A/D converter 8. This makes it possible to reduce the overall data volume. Therefore, the output signal can be transmitted at high speed as data from multiple receiving coils, even with limited communication capacity. In other words, because the amount of data received by the communication interface 12 of the measurement unit 10 from the downsampler 10 is small, finger movement data for multiple receiving coils can be transferred to the processor 30 (via the communication interface 31 of the processor 30) at once, either wirelessly or via a wired connection.

The processor 30, which processes the measurement data obtained by the measurement unit 10, calculates a mouth-opening width left-right difference ratio R W (= W P / W H ) by dividing the value of the maximum mouth-opening width W P on the affected side by the value of the maximum mouth-opening width W _H on the healthy side with respect to the maximum mouth-opening width W between the two fingers during finger tapping, based on the detection information detected by the tapping sensor 2, specifically, based on the measurement data output from the measurement unit ₁₀ which measures the finger-tapping movements of the fingers of both the healthy and affected sides of the subject using the tapping sensor 2, and calculates a mouth-opening velocity left-right difference ratio R _V (= V _P / V _H ) by dividing the value of the maximum mouth-opening velocity V _P on the affected side by the value of the maximum mouth-opening velocity V _H on the healthy side with respect to the maximum mouth-opening velocity _V between the two fingers during finger tapping. If the mouth-opening width left-right difference ratio R _W and the mouth-opening velocity left-right difference ratio R _V calculated by the calculation circuit 33 are both equal to or _greater than a predetermined threshold T, the processor ₃₀ determines that the subject belongs to an excessive finger movement group, in which excessive finger movements are being performed, and calculates a mouth-opening width left-right difference ratio R The device has a determination circuit 34 that determines that the subject belongs to a movement-restricted group in which the subject restricts finger movement by himself/herself when both the left-right difference ratio _{R W} of the mouth width and the left-right difference ratio R _V of the mouth opening speed are less than a predetermined threshold T, and determines that the subject belongs to a control group in which the subject can appropriately control finger movement by himself/herself when either the left-right difference ratio R _W of the mouth width and the left-right difference ratio R V of the mouth opening speed are less than the predetermined threshold T and the other is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold T.

The finger hyperactivity assessment device 1 also includes a display 37 that displays various data (such as the results of calculations performed by the calculation circuit 33) including the results of the determination made by the determination circuit 34 of the processor 30, a memory 36 that stores the various data, and an operation input interface 38 that can input necessary data and commands to the processor 30 by operation.

In the above configuration, the processor 30 is composed of a CPU and other components, and executes programs such as an operating system (OS) and various operation control applications stored in the memory 36, thereby controlling the operation of the various circuits 33 and 34 described above and controlling the startup of various applications.

Memory 36 is composed of flash memory or the like, and stores programs such as the operating system and applications for controlling the operation of various processes such as images, audio, documents, displays, and measurements. Memory 36 also stores information data such as base data required for basic operations by the operating system and file data used by various applications.

The processing performed by the processor 30 may be stored as a single application, and the measurement of finger movements and the calculation and analysis of various feature quantities may be performed by launching the application. Alternatively, an external server device with high computing performance and large capacity may receive the measurement results from the information processing terminal and calculate and analyze the feature quantities.

The operation input interface 38 generally uses input means such as a keyboard, key buttons, or touch keys, but may also use gesture operation or voice input, for example, to set and input the information that the subject should enter.

Furthermore, the communication interface 31 may not only receive measurement results from the measurement unit 10, but may also communicate wirelessly with a server device or the like located in a different location via short-range wireless communication, wireless LAN, or base station communication. In this case, during wireless communication, measurement data and analytically calculated features may be transmitted and received from the server device or the like via the transmitting/receiving antenna 39. Note that short-range wireless communication is performed using, for example, an electronic tag, but is not limited to this. Communication may also be performed using a wireless LAN such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), IrDA (Infrared Data Association, registered trademark), Zigbee (registered trademark), HomeRF (Home Radio Frequency, registered trademark), or Wi-Fi (registered trademark), as long as it is capable of at least wireless communication when located near another information terminal. Furthermore, base station communication can be achieved using long-distance wireless communication such as W-CDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) or GSM (Global System for Mobile communications). It is also possible to detect the relative positions and orientations between terminals using an ultra-wide band (UWB) wireless system. Although not shown, the communication interface 31 may use other methods for wireless communication, such as optical communication or acoustic wave communication. In this case, optical emitting/receiving units and acoustic wave output/input interfaces are used instead of the transmitting/receiving antenna 39, respectively.

In this embodiment, the measurement unit 10 and processor 30 each have the aforementioned components individually, but they may also be provided with a functional unit that integrates at least some or all of these components. In short, any configuration is acceptable as long as the functionality of each of these components is ensured.

The finger hypermobility assessment device 1 configured as described above is non-invasive and features a compact, lightweight design that is highly biosafe, allowing for measurement and assessment in a short measurement time with minimal burden on the subject.

Next, with reference to the flowchart in Figure 3, an example of the operation of the finger hypermobility assessment device 1 configured as described above (finger hypermobility assessment method) will be described in more detail.

Figure 3 shows an example of the processing steps (steps S1 to S9 of the finger hypermobility evaluation method) executed by the finger hypermobility evaluation device 1 (steps S2 and onwards show an example of the processing steps executed by the processor 30). As shown in the figure, in the finger hypermobility evaluation device 1 (finger hypermobility evaluation method) of this embodiment, the measurement unit 10 first measures the finger tapping movement performed by the subject (measurement step S1). Specifically, the measurement unit 10 magnetically measures (detects) the finger tapping movement of both the healthy and affected fingers of the subject's left and right hands using the tapping sensor 2. During this measurement process, the processor 30 acquires detection data (measurement data) from the tapping sensor 2 (step S2).

When the subject's finger tapping movement is measured by the measurement unit 10 in this manner and the measurement data is received by the processor 30, the arithmetic circuit 33 of the processor 30 then calculates, based on the received measurement data, a right-left difference ratio R W (= W P / W H ) of the maximum finger-opening width W between the two fingers during finger tapping, by dividing the value of the maximum finger-opening width W _P on the affected side by the value of the maximum finger-opening width W _H on the healthy side (for example, based on the data shown in FIG. 6 described above), and also calculates a right-left difference ratio R _V (= V _P / V _H ) of the maximum finger-opening velocity V between the two fingers during finger tapping, by dividing the value of the maximum finger-opening velocity V _P on the affected side by the value of the maximum finger _- opening velocity _{V H} on the healthy side (for example, based on the data corresponding to the healthy and affected sides, respectively, as shown in FIG. ₅ described above) (arithmetic step S3). In particular, in this embodiment, the values of the maximum opening widths W _P and W _H are the average values of the maximum opening widths (maximum points of the distance between the two fingers) within a predetermined time, and the values of the maximum opening speeds V _P and V _H are the average values of the maximum opening speeds (maximum points of the speed when the two fingers separate) within a predetermined time.

After the calculation circuit 33 calculates the mouth-opening width difference ratio R _W and the mouth-opening velocity difference ratio R _V , the judgment circuit 34 of the processor 30 compares the mouth-opening width difference ratio and the mouth-opening velocity difference ratio with a predetermined threshold T to classify the subject into one of the following groups: an excessive movement group in which the affected side moves more excessively than the healthy side (the affected side is painful, difficult to use on a daily basis, and fearful, but the subject moves the affected side unintentionally); a movement-restricted group in which the subject restricts finger movement (the affected side is painful, difficult to use on a daily basis, and fearful, so the subject tries to avoid moving the affected side as much as possible); or a control group in which the subject is able to appropriately control finger movement. In particular, in this embodiment, the predetermined threshold T is set to 1, and the subject is classified into the three groups described above using the classification table shown in FIG. 7. The predetermined threshold T can be set to any value within the range of 0.25 to 2.5 (1 in this embodiment).

Specifically, in this embodiment in which the threshold value T is set to 1, the judgment circuit 34 judges whether the ratio R _W of the difference in the mouth width between the left and right and the ratio R _V of the difference in the mouth opening velocity between the left and right calculated by the calculation circuit 33 are equal to or greater than the threshold value T (=1) (step S4), and if the ratios R _W and R _V are equal to or greater than the threshold value (=1) (if the judgment in step S4 is YES), it judges that the subject belongs to the hypermobility group (step S5). At this time, the judgment circuit may also simultaneously judge that the subject's finger movement disorder is suitable for splint therapy, which involves limited immobilization of the affected area with a splint. On the other hand, if neither of the ratios R _W and R _V is greater than or equal to the threshold value (=1) (if the judgment in step S4 is NO), the judgment circuit 34 judges whether both of the ratio R _W of the difference between the left and right opening widths and the ratio R _V of the difference between the left and right opening speeds are less than the threshold value T (=1) (step S6), and if both of the ratios R _W and R _V are less than the threshold value (=1) (if the judgment in step S6 is YES), it judges that the subject belongs to the exercise restriction group (step S7). On the other hand, if neither of the ratios R _W nor R _V is less than the threshold value (=1) (if the judgment in step S6 is NO), that is, if neither of the ratios R _W nor R _V is greater than or equal to the threshold value (=1) nor less than the threshold value (=1), in other words, if either the left-right difference ratio R _W in mouth width or the left-right difference ratio R _V in mouth opening velocity is less than a predetermined threshold value T (=1) and the other is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold value T (=1), the judgment circuit 34 judges that the subject belongs to the control group (step S8).

Once the subject has been classified into groups as described above, the results of the classification are displayed on the display 37 (step S9). Furthermore, by inputting a specific command, for example, via the operation input interface 38, data corresponding to that command, such as calculated data calculated by the arithmetic circuit 33 (or measurement data output from the measurement unit 10), is also displayed on the display 37.

In practice, as an example, healthy individuals can move almost simultaneously on the affected and unaffected sides, so both the mouth opening width difference ratio R _W and the mouth opening speed difference ratio R _V are close to 1. In contrast, when there is pain in either the left or right finger (i.e., when the subject belongs to the movement-restricted group), it is assumed that the affected side can only open half as much as the unaffected side, in which case the "mouth opening width difference ratio" is 0.5. It is also assumed that the affected side can only open half as much as the unaffected side and at half the speed, which could result in a "mouth opening speed difference ratio" of 0.25. On the other hand, when the subject belongs to the excessive movement group, for example, the affected side may open twice as much as the unaffected side, resulting in a "mouth opening width difference ratio" of 2.0. It is also assumed that the affected side is out of control and the mouth opening speed is 1.25 times faster, resulting in a "mouth opening speed difference ratio" of 2.5. Therefore, it is preferable to set the predetermined threshold T to any value within the range of 0.25 to 2.5.

As explained above, in the configuration of this embodiment, attention is focused on the maximum opening width and maximum opening speed between two fingers, which are characteristic quantities that can be said to be direct indicators of the degree of finger movement, and finger mobility is evaluated based on the ratio between the healthy side and the affected side using these as parameters. Specifically, finger tapping movement, which is the opening and closing movement of two fingers, is measured for the fingers on both the healthy and affected sides of the subject, and based on the measurement data, the ratios obtained by dividing the affected side by the healthy side with respect to the maximum opening width W and maximum opening speed V between the two fingers (left-right opening width difference ratio R _W and left-right opening speed difference ratio R _V ) are calculated, and the calculated ratios are used to capture the finger movement state of the subject, so that excessive finger movement can be determined with high accuracy (quantitatively evaluated with high accuracy).

In particular, in this embodiment, if the mouth-opening width left-right difference ratio R _W and the mouth-opening speed left-right difference ratio R _V are both 1 or greater, the subject is determined to belong to the excessive movement group; if the mouth-opening width left-right difference ratio R _W and the mouth-opening speed left-right difference ratio R _V are both less than 1, the subject is determined to belong to the movement restriction group; and if either the mouth-opening width left-right difference ratio R _W or the mouth-opening speed left-right difference ratio R _V is less than 1 and the other is 1 or greater, the subject is determined to belong to the control group. This makes it possible to selectively assign conventional treatments such as splint therapy, manual therapy, or injection therapy to the subject depending on the current finger movement state, which can contribute to the realization of efficient and effective treatment.

Furthermore, since the ratio _RW of the difference in mouth width between the healthy side and the affected side and the ratio _RV of the difference in mouth opening velocity between the healthy side and the affected side are effective indicators that can detect excessive mobility, it becomes possible to determine the suitability of splint therapy, particularly for arthritis of the CM joint of the thumb, with higher accuracy than before.

Although embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the drawings, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and can include various modifications. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail to clearly explain the present invention, and are not necessarily limited to those that include all of the described configurations. Furthermore, it is possible to replace part of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment, and it is also possible to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment. Furthermore, it is possible to add, delete, or replace part of the configuration of each embodiment with other configurations.

Furthermore, some or all of the above-mentioned configurations, functions, processing units, processing means, etc. may be realized in hardware, for example by designing them as integrated circuits. Furthermore, the above-mentioned configurations, functions, etc. may be realized in software by a processor interpreting and executing a program that realizes each function. Information such as the programs, tables, and files that realize each function may be stored in memory, a recording device such as a hard disk or SSD (Solid State Drive), or a recording medium such as an IC card, SD card, or DVD, or may be stored in a device on a communications network.

Furthermore, the control and information lines shown are those considered necessary for the explanation, and do not necessarily represent all control and information lines on the product. In reality, it is safe to assume that almost all components are interconnected.

2 tapping sensor 10 measurement unit 30 processor 33 calculation circuit 34 determination circuit

Claims (9)

a measuring step of measuring finger tapping movements, which are opening and closing movements of two fingers, for both the healthy and affected fingers of the subject;
a calculation step of calculating a right-left difference ratio of the maximum finger-opening width by dividing the value of the maximum finger-opening width on the affected side by the value of the maximum finger-opening width on the healthy side based on the measurement data obtained by the measurement step, and calculating a right-left difference ratio of the maximum finger-opening speed by dividing the value of the maximum finger-opening speed on the affected side by the value of the maximum finger-opening speed on the healthy side based on the measurement data obtained by the measurement step;
a determination step of determining that the subject belongs to an excessive movement group in which the subject makes excessive finger movements when the left-right difference ratio of the mouth width and the left-right difference ratio of the mouth speed calculated in the calculation step are both equal to or greater than predetermined thresholds, determining that the subject belongs to a movement restriction group in which the subject restricts finger movements by himself when the left-right difference ratio of the mouth width and the left-right difference ratio of the mouth speed are both less than the predetermined thresholds, and determining that the subject belongs to a control group in which the subject can appropriately control finger movements by himself when either the left-right difference ratio of the mouth width or the left-right difference ratio of the mouth speed is less than the predetermined threshold and the other is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold;
A method for evaluating finger hypermobility, comprising: The finger hypermobility assessment method described in claim 1, characterized in that the predetermined threshold is within the range of 0.25 to 2.5. The finger hypermobility evaluation method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the determination step determines that the subject's finger movement disorder is suitable for splint therapy, which involves limited immobilization of the affected area with a splint, if the subject belongs to the hypermobility group. A computer program for processing measurement data obtained by measuring finger tapping movements, which are opening and closing movements of two fingers, for both the healthy and affected fingers of a subject,
a calculation step of calculating a right-left difference ratio of the maximum finger-opening width between the two fingers during finger tapping based on the measurement data by dividing the value of the maximum finger-opening width on the affected side by the value of the maximum finger-opening width on the healthy side, and calculating a right-left difference ratio of the maximum finger-opening speed between the two fingers during finger tapping by dividing the value of the maximum finger-opening speed on the affected side by the value of the maximum finger-opening speed on the healthy side;
a determination step of determining that the subject belongs to an excessive movement group in which the subject makes excessive finger movements when the left-right difference ratio of the mouth width and the left-right difference ratio of the mouth speed calculated in the calculation step are both equal to or greater than predetermined thresholds, determining that the subject belongs to a movement restriction group in which the subject restricts finger movements by himself when the left-right difference ratio of the mouth width and the left-right difference ratio of the mouth speed are both less than the predetermined thresholds, and determining that the subject belongs to a control group in which the subject can appropriately control finger movements by himself when either the left-right difference ratio of the mouth width or the left-right difference ratio of the mouth speed is less than the predetermined threshold and the other is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold;
A computer program characterized by causing a computer to execute the above. The computer program described in claim 4, characterized in that the predetermined threshold is within the range of 0.25 to 2.5. The computer program described in claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the determination step determines that the subject's finger movement disorder is suitable for splint therapy, which involves limited immobilization of the affected area with a splint, if the subject belongs to the hypermobility group. The device includes a measuring unit that measures finger tapping movements, which are opening and closing movements of two fingers of both the healthy and affected left and right fingers of a subject, and a processor that processes measurement data obtained by the measurement unit,
The processor:
a calculation circuit that calculates a right-left difference ratio of the maximum finger-opening width by dividing the value of the maximum finger-opening width on the affected side by the value of the maximum finger-opening width on the healthy side based on the measurement data obtained in the measuring step, and also calculates a right-left difference ratio of the maximum finger-opening speed by dividing the value of the maximum finger-opening speed on the affected side by the value of the maximum finger-opening speed on the healthy side based on the measurement data obtained in the measuring step;
a determination circuit that determines that the subject belongs to an excessive movement group in which the subject makes excessive finger movements when the left-right difference ratio of the mouth width and the left-right difference ratio of the mouth speed calculated in the calculation step are both equal to or greater than predetermined thresholds, that the subject belongs to a movement restriction group in which the subject restricts finger movements by himself when the left-right difference ratio of the mouth width and the left-right difference ratio of the mouth speed are both less than the predetermined thresholds, and that the subject belongs to a control group in which the subject can appropriately control finger movements by himself when either the left-right difference ratio of the mouth width or the left-right difference ratio of the mouth speed is less than the predetermined threshold and the other is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold;
A finger hypermobility evaluation device comprising: The finger hypermobility assessment device described in claim 7, characterized in that the predetermined threshold is within the range of 0.25 to 2.5. The finger hypermobility assessment device described in claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the judgment circuit determines that the subject's finger movement disorder is suitable for splint therapy, which involves limited immobilization of the affected area using a splint, if the subject belongs to the hypermobility group.