Changes in hand morphology throughout human evolution have facilitated the use of forceful pad-to-pad precision grips, contributing to development fine motor movement and dexterous manipulation typical modern humans. Today, variation function may be affected by demographic and/or lifestyle factors, but these remain largely unexplored. We measured pinch grip strength dexterity a heterogeneous cr...

BACKGROUND As the use of laparoscopic techniques have expanded to more complicated procedures, limitations of laparoscopy have begun to be realized. To help regain the ability to palpate and bluntly dissect tissues, and handle larger organs, surgeons have begun to utilize devices which allow the surgeon's hand to be inserted into the abdomen during laparoscopic procedures. One such devices is t...

We present the RBO Hand 3, a highly capable and versatile anthropomorphic soft hand based on pneumatic actuation. The 3 is designed to enable dexterous manipulation, facilitate transfer of insights about human dexterity, serve as robust research platform for extensive real-world experiments. It achieves these design goals by combining many degrees actuation with intrinsic compliance, replicatin...

OBJECTIVE To describe and evaluate the effects of a new home-based sensory re-education training tool on hand sensibility and manual dexterity in people with MS experiencing upper limb sensory deficits. METHODS Twenty-five people with relapsing-remitting MS (18 women), mean age 50.6 years (SD = 11.4), volunteered to participate. Participants were initially assigned to a 7-week control phase f...

BACKGROUND Intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) is a repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) protocol that influences cortical excitability and motor function recovery. OBJECTIVES This study aimed to investigate the effects of iTBS on manual dexterity and hand motor imagery in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. METHODS Thirty-six MS patients were non-randomly assigned into...

Temporary deafferentation of the upper limb, with ischemic or anesthetic nerve block, has rapid effects on sensorimotor cortex. Cutaneous anesthesia of the forearm has recently been found to improve sensory and motor function of the paretic hand in chronic stroke patients. However, the neurophysiological mechanisms are unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the behavioral and neuroph...