Sensor-assessed grasping time as a biomarker of functional impairment in rheumatoid arthritis

Coppers B, Heinrich S, Tascilar K, Phutane U, Kleyer A, Simon D, Bräunig J, Penner J, Vossiek M, Schönau V, Bayat S, Schett G, Leyendecker S, Liphardt AM (2025)

Publication Language: English

Publication Type: Journal article, Original article

Publication year: 2025

Journal

Scientific Reports Nature Publishing Group: Open Access Journals - Option B

Book Volume: 15

Article Number: 6018

Journal Issue: 1

DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-90295-7

Abstract

Quantifying physical impairment in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is important to determine disease burden and disability. Therefore, we aimed to define hand function impairments in RA patients using an opto-electronic measurement system (OMS). In this cross-sectional pilot study, spatio-temporal and hand segment data were collected during the fine motor skill Moberg Picking-Up Test (MPUT) and two elementary hand movement tasks in RA patients and healthy controls (HC) using a marker-based OMS. The duration of two MPUT movement phases (grasping, transporting 12 objects) and kinematic characteristics during the elementary movements were evaluated. We analyzed between-group differences using linear mixed-effects models accounting for within-participant clustering of hands and adjusting for age and sex. Measurements were obtained from 24 RA and 23 HC. The mean duration of the grasping phase of MPUT was longer in RA patients compared to HC while transporting times were identical, showing a significant group-phase interaction (p < 0.001). Interphalangeal joint angle ratios were similar in RA and HC (p > 0.05) with a lower ratio in both groups for the task thumb-finger opposition compared to flexion of joints. In RA patients especially grasping objects was impaired, and performance time for a subset of objects may serve as a quantitative biomarker of functional impairment.

Authors with CRIS profile

Birte Coppers Department of Medicine 3 – Rheumatology and Immunology Simon Heinrich Sonderforschungsbereich 1483/1 - Empathokinästhetische Sensorik - Sensortechniken und Datenanalyseverfahren zur empathokinästhetischen Modellbildung und Zustandsbestimmung (SFB EmpkinS) Koray Tascilar Department of Medicine 3 – Rheumatology and Immunology Uday Phutane Institute of Applied Dynamics Arnd Kleyer Medizinische Fakultät David Simon Department of Medicine 3 – Rheumatology and Immunology Johanna Bräunig Lehrstuhl für Hochfrequenztechnik (LHFT) Johann Penner Institute of Applied Dynamics Martin Vossiek Lehrstuhl für Hochfrequenztechnik (LHFT) Verena Schönau Department of Medicine 3 – Rheumatology and Immunology Sara Bayat Department of Medicine 3 – Rheumatology and Immunology Georg Schett Lehrstuhl für Innere Medizin III Sigrid Leyendecker Institute of Applied Dynamics Anna-Maria Liphardt Medizinische Fakultät

Related research project(s)

Analysis of Degenerative Motion Impairments through Integration of Empathokinaesthetic Sensor Data in Biomechanical Human Models (C04) (SFB 1483 EmpkinS C04) Empatho-Kinaesthetic Sensor Technology (SFB 1483 EmpkinS) July 1, 2021 - June 30, 2025 Bewegungsmuster der Hand aus empathokinästhetischen Sensordaten als diagnostische Größe für Krankheitsaktivität bei Patienten mit rheumatischen Erkrankungen (EmpkinS D01) Empatho-Kinaesthetic Sensor Technology (SFB 1483 EmpkinS) July 1, 2021 - June 30, 2025

How to cite

APA:

Coppers, B., Heinrich, S., Tascilar, K., Phutane, U., Kleyer, A., Simon, D.,... Liphardt, A.-M. (2025). Sensor-assessed grasping time as a biomarker of functional impairment in rheumatoid arthritis. Scientific Reports, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-90295-7

MLA:

Coppers, Birte, et al. "Sensor-assessed grasping time as a biomarker of functional impairment in rheumatoid arthritis." Scientific Reports 15.1 (2025).

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