A research group at the University of Tokyo's Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology has developed a method to measure the upper limb motor function of elderly people with dementia by playing drums.Furthermore, they found a correlation between the angle of the arm at which they hit the drum and the severity of dementia, suggesting the possibility of using it to screen for severity of dementia.
Until now, it has been pointed out that the decline in upper extremity motor function is related to the decline in cognitive function and dementia.However, the more severe the dementia, the more difficult it becomes to perform the necessary tasks correctly, making it difficult to measure exercise.Therefore, there has been a demand for a method for evaluating motor function that can be easily performed in a clinical setting, even in patients with dementia.
On the other hand, rhythmic response movements, such as the rhythm produced by beating a drum, are known to be maintained even in severe dementia.Also, when hitting the drum, the drum stick bounces off the drum, so even people with dementia or weakness can easily raise their arms as many times as they want.
Our group developed a new method to measure the upper extremity motor function from the movement of the drum-beating arms of dementia patients by using the strengths of drumming.By attaching a wristwatch-type wearable sensor to the patient's wrist, it is possible to measure the elevation angle of the arm during drumming.Since the angle of arm elevation showed a correlation with the grip strength used in the conventional evaluation of upper limb motor function, we confirmed that this method is effective for measuring upper limb motor function.
In addition, the angle of arm elevation during drumming was found to be related to cognitive function, and it was found that the more severe the dementia, the lower the arm for drumming.In other words, drum performance can be used for simple determination of the severity of dementia.
The movement of the drum can be performed by people with dementia or infirm, and the wristwatch-type wearable device is inexpensive and easy to wear.It is expected to greatly contribute to dementia treatment and care, such as early detection of cognitive decline, suppression of aggravation, and evaluation of treatment effects.
