Hasan, H;
Burrows, M;
Athauda, D;
Hellman, B;
James, B;
Warner, T;
Foltynie, T;
... Noyce, A; + view all
(2019)
The BRadykinesia Akinesia INcoordination (BRAIN) tap test: capturing the sequence effect.
Movement Disorders: Clinical Practice
10.1002/mdc3.12798.
(In press).
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The BRadykinesia Akinesia INcoordination (BRAIN) tap test.pdf - Accepted Version Access restricted to UCL open access staff Download (1MB) |
Abstract
Background The BRAIN tap test is an online keyboard tapping task that has been previously validated to assess upper limb motor function in Parkinson's disease (PD). Objectives To develop a new parameter which detects a sequence effect and to reliably distinguish between PD patients ‘on’ and ‘off’ medication. Alongside, we sought to validate a mobile version of the test for use on smartphones and tablet devices. Methods BRAIN test scores in 61 patients with PD and 93 healthy controls were compared. A range of established parameters captured speed and accuracy of alternate taps. The new VS (Velocity Score) recorded the inter‐tap speed. Decrement in the VS was used as a marker for the sequence effect. In the validation phase, 19 PD patients and 19 controls were tested using different hardware including smart devices. Results Quantified slopes from the VS demonstrated bradykinesia (sequence effect) in PD patients (slope cut‐off ‐0.002) with sensitivity of 58% and specificity of 81% (discovery phase of the study) and sensitivity of 65% and specificity of 88% (validation phase). All BRAIN test parameters differentiated between ‘on’ medication and ‘off’ medication states in PD. Differentiation between PD patients and controls was possible on all hardware versions of the test. Conclusion The BRAIN tap test is a simple, user‐friendly and free‐to‐use tool for assessment of upper limb motor dysfunction in PD, which now includes a measure of bradykinesia.
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