Independent Evaluation of Peg Travel and Reach Movement Time Using A Newly Developed Nine-Hole Pegboard

Abstract Background: Hand dexterity in patients is often assessed with the nine-hole peg test (NHPT). In this test, the time to complete the test is the only outcome variable. However, the evaluation time alone does not provide detailed information about test execution. By introducing a newly developed PC-connected nine-hole pegboard, we divided the peg test exercise into four parts, calculated the difficulty level, and clarified the characteristics of the NHPT. In addition, we provided baseline data of detailed NHPT performance in healthy young women.Methods: A pegboard with a container equipped with an accelerometer and nine holes with small photo reflectors at the bottom was developed for the present study. Pegboard features and peg dimensions were the same as those of a commercially available NHPT. Dominant and nondominant hands and container-to-peg hole distances (index of difficulty; ID) were analyzed as dependent variables for the four phases of the task in 16 healthy young women.Results: Handedness was examined using the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory, and all participants were strongly right-handed. It was possible to accurately measure the total performance time, peg movement time and reaching time for each task. The total performance time was shorter for the dominant (right) hand (15595.4 ± 1039.5 msec) than for the nondominant (left) hand (17494.4 ± 1478.7 msec) (P<0.001). Peg movement time showed an increase in performance time 900 ± 67.7 to 979.3 ± 112.2 as the task difficulty increased from an ID of 7.6 bits to 8.4 bits (P=0.035).Conclusions: The newly developed pegboard makes it possible to accurately and separately measure movement times with individual pegs and the time to reach pegs, without the need for stopwatch assessments. A detailed evaluation will clarify problems in upper limb function, suggest a training protocol, and identify problems needing intervention to develop future approaches to the rehabilitation of hand dexterity.Trial registrationNot applicable