Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33090110›Full record

ArticleJMIR serious games2020

A Tablet App for Handwriting Skill Screening at the Preliteracy Stage: Instrument Validation Study.

Linda Greta Dui, Francesca Lunardini, Cristiano Termine, Matteo Matteucci, Natale Adolfo Stucchi, Nunzio Alberto Borghese, Simona Ferrante

Open access · goldAbstract read
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Article in JMIR serious games, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
11.1field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 37 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Linda Greta DuiDepartment of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6826-3419
Francesca LunardiniDepartment of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4705-6733
Cristiano TermineDepartment of Medicine and Surgery, University of Insubria, Varese, Italy.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2325-8293
Matteo MatteucciDepartment of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8306-6739
Natale Adolfo StucchiDepartment of Psychology, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7695-4068
Nunzio Alberto BorgheseDepartment of Computer Science, University of Milano, Milan, Italy.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0925-3448
Simona FerranteDepartment of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7835-1965
Politecnico di Milano · ITUniversity of Insubria · ITUniversity of Milan · ITUniversity of Milano-Bicocca · IT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDifficulties in handwriting, such as dysgraphia, impact several aspects of a child's everyday life. Current methodologies for the detection of such difficulties in children have the following three main weaknesses: (1) they are prone to subjective evaluation; (2) they can be administered only when handwriting is mastered, thus delaying the diagnosis and the possible adoption of countermeasures; and (3) they are not always easily accessible to the entire community.

objectiveThis work aims at developing a solution able to: (1) quantitatively measure handwriting features whose alteration is typically seen in children with dysgraphia; (2) enable their study in a preliteracy population; and (3) leverage a standard consumer technology to increase the accessibility of both early screening and longitudinal monitoring of handwriting difficulties.

methodsWe designed and developed a novel tablet-based app Play Draw Write to assess potential markers of dysgraphia through the quantification of the following three key handwriting laws: isochrony, homothety, and speed-accuracy tradeoff. To extend such an approach to a preliteracy age, the app includes the study of the laws in terms of both word writing and symbol drawing. The app was tested among healthy children with mastered handwriting (third graders) and those at a preliterate age (kindergartners).

resultsApp testing in 15 primary school children confirmed that the three laws hold on the tablet surface when both writing words and drawing symbols. We found significant speed modulation according to size (P<.001), no relevant changes to fraction time for 67 out of 70 comparisons, and significant regression between movement time and index of difficulty for 44 out of 45 comparisons (P<.05, R

conclusionsThe designed app represents a promising solution for the screening of handwriting difficulties, since it allows (1) anticipation of the detection of alteration of handwriting principles at a preliteracy age and (2) provision of broader access to the monitoring of handwriting principles. Such a solution potentially enables the selective strengthening of lacking abilities before they exacerbate and affect the child's whole life.

Indexed as

homothetyisochronypreventionserious gamespeed-accuracy tradeoffsteering lawtabletwriting

Identifiers

PMID33090110
PMCPMC7644384
OpenAlexW3093639706

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.