Grip strength, as well as walking speed and gait length, can be indicators of a person?s physical and mental health. A variety of conditions and treatments can be monitored from the grip strength, but such measurements are typically only performed infrequently at the doctor?s office. IBM Research has just developed a Sensor that is attached to a Fingernail on the index finger, that can measure the finger?s motion and from that figure out the grip strength.
The engineers were originally motivated to create a device that can help with Monitoring of Parkinson?s patients, as changes in a medication regimen should normally be accounted by changes in symptoms. Since most Parkinson?s sufferers are older folks, skin-based sensors can be not as accurate and may lead to unwanted infections, but the Fingernail is safer in this respect and provide a great deal of information about a person?s daily activities.
The device has aآ*dynamometer inside that detects finger motion, and thanks to Artificial Intelligence and software the system can figure out quite a bit about what the person wearing the Sensor is doing.
Here?s a video that IBM released about the new device: