Assessment of the Clinical Requirements for a Robotic System to Quantitatively Evaluate Hand Tactile Deficits Post-stroke

Assessment of sensory function in clinical settings is often overlooked despite its importance for motor recovery post-stroke. When implemented, sensory assessments typically suffer from poor resolution and reliability. Robotic devices can provide precise and reliable measurements of sensory function but are underutilized and often unavailable, especially those designed to assess tactile function. While there have been attempts to develop such devices, the lack of clearly defined clinical requirements hinders the clinical integration of these devices. This study presents survey results from 27 clinical experts from a on current tactile function assessment practices and outlines the design requirements for an effective, clinically viable robotic device. The fingertips and volar side of the palm were identified as key locations to assess (52% and 44% of responses respectively) with light touch (59% of responses) and tactile localization (44% of responses) also identified as critical features to assess. Responses to the open-ended questions highlighted the importance of an intuitive, user-friendly design with quick setup to ensure successful integration into clinical practice. These results outline initial clinical design requirements, potentially guiding the development of robotic devices for assessing tactile function.