Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34020668›Full record

Trial reportJournal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation2021

Feasibility and effectiveness of a novel dynamic arm support in persons with spinal muscular atrophy and duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Mariska M H P Janssen, Jolinda Horstik, Paulien Klap, Imelda J M de Groot

Open access · goldAbstract readClinical Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
1.3field-weighted citation impact, top 19% 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

4 citing papers in PubMed, 11 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
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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

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Mariska M H P JanssenDepartment of Rehabilitation, Radboud University Medical Center, Donders Centre for Neuroscience, Reinier Postlaan 4, 6525 GC, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Mariska.Janssen@radboudumc.nl.ORCID 0000-0003-2715-6235
Jolinda HorstikYumen Bionics, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Paulien KlapYumen Bionics, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Imelda J M de GrootDepartment of Rehabilitation, Radboud University Medical Center, Donders Centre for Neuroscience, Reinier Postlaan 4, 6525 GC, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Radboud University Nijmegen · NL

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundNeuromuscular disorders (NMD) commonly affect the upper extremity. Due to muscle weakness, performance of daily activities becomes increasingly difficult, which leads to reduced independence and quality of life. In order to support the performance of upper extremity tasks, dynamic arm supports may be used. The Yumen Arm is a novel dynamic arm support specially developed for people with NMD. The aim of this study is to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of the Yumen Arm in persons with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) and persons with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA).

methodsThree persons with DMD and three persons with SMA participated in this study. All participants conducted a set of measures with and without the Yumen Arm. Outcome measures were: active range of motion of the arm and trunk (i.e. Reachable Workspace, Functional Workspace, and trunk movement), fatigue (OMNI-RPE), Performance of Upper Limb (PUL) scale and some additional activities of daily living. User experiences were collected using a questionnaire.

resultsThe Yumen Arm could be used by all participants. Results showed a median increase in active range of motion (4% relative surface area), and a median increase of function ability (> 11% PUL score) when using the Yumen Arm. In addition, three out of four (data from 2 participants was missing) participants indicated that activity performance was less fatiguing when using the Yumen Arm. Four out of five (data from 1 participant was missing) participants indicated that they would like to use the Yumen Arm in their daily lives.

conclusionThis study is one of the first studies describing a range of objective measures to examine the effectiveness of a dynamic arm support. Based on these measurements we can conclude that the Yumen Arm effectively improves arm function in NMD patients, however the effectiveness varies a lot between individual subjects. We provided detailed recommendations for the improvement of the Yumen Arm, and possible also for the development of other dynamic arm supports. This study showed a lot of variability between individual subjects, which emphasizes the importance of tuning dynamic arm supports based on individual user characteristics, such as scoliosis, functional capacity and muscle strength.

Indexed as

Exoskeleton DeviceActivities of Daily LivingAdolescentAdultArmChildFeasibility StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMuscular Atrophy, SpinalMuscular Dystrophy, DuchenneQuality of LifeRange of Motion, ArticularYoung AdultDuchenne muscular dystrophyDynamic arm supportSpinal muscular atrophyUpper limb

Identifiers

PMID34020668
PMCPMC8139063
OpenAlexW3163552393

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

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.