The measurement and analysis of Parkinsonian hand tremor

The study of the mechanical characteristics of tremor for patients suffering from Parkinson's disease (PD) is an important first step to the design of mechanical tremor suppression orthoses. So far, researchers have interpreted tremor characteristics in both the time and the frequency domains. A number of tremor suppression devices have been developed on the basis of these interpretations of tremor. However, most of the studies and devices have only focused on tremor at the wrist and elbow, and have neglected finger tremor despite the huge impact that it has on a patient's daily life. The aim of the present study was to determine the characteristics of finger tremor and wrist tremor, which may be used to provide a reference for the design of tremor suppression devices for the hand. Tremor magnitudes were represented in the forms of linear acceleration, angular velocity and angular displacement. The results show that PD tremors from all joints have a common multiple-frequency pattern and that the second harmonic (6.9-11.5 Hz) makes a large contribution to the tremor that cannot be neglected.

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