Volume 13, Number 2, 2005
Slobodan Jaric conducts hands-on research—literally.
The associate professor of health, nutrition and exercise sciences has a temporary patent on a diagnostic device that measures hand function more precisely than has been possible before. Jaric is testing the device, not only with healthy people but also with a group of people who have multiple sclerosis, although he says it potentially could be used by stroke patients and others whose conditions can lead to impaired hand function.
“My hope is that one day this will become a standard testing tool for early detection,” he says. “We think of the ability to live independently as a function of how well someone can get out of bed and move around, but hand function is just as vital for everyday tasks.”
Last year, Jaric received a $44,000 grant from the National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society for the project, which initially was supported by a University of Delaware Research Foundation grant. This spring, the National Institutes of Health awarded Jaric a $150,000 grant that will enable him to continue and expand his research.
The device Jaric is testing consists of a T-shaped plastic rod, which was made by UD’s mechanical engineering department and is linked to a computer. Those individuals using it are asked to perform such tasks as grasping and or exerting force by pushing and pulling with their fingertips. As they perform the tasks, a graph appears on the screen to show how successful they are, while they are not aware that their grip force also is being measured.
As subjects work with the device, CHS graduate student and physical therapist Rahul Marwaha observes them, studying not just the results of their tests but also the strategies they use to perform the tasks.
“The main advantage of our approach is that this device allows for testing a wide variety of types of tasks,” Jaric says. “We also can test each hand separately or both together, so there are a lot of different indices of hand function we can analyze.”
Up to now, he says, hand-function tests for those with MS have not been accurate and have not picked up the degree of impairment a patient may have. “The current tests involve grasping a doctor’s hand or performing simple tasks, and persons with mild MS may appear to be almost normal. We see that the device we are developing is more sensitive and is much more reliable,” he says.
There are three aspects of hand function that Jaric says are important for performing daily activities:
While all these abilities come naturally to healthy persons, Jaric says they are “heavily damaged” in those with MS, Parkinson’s disease or other neurological disorders.
The device to measure hand function more accurately may provide a way to assess the effects of the therapeutic treatment MS patients are receiving and to measure any recovery or relapse they may experience with the disorder, Jaric says. In addition, the project may lead to a better understanding of why there are MS-associated problems with brain function and also provide a means of studying the difference between dominant and nondominant hands in healthy individuals.
Jaric’s research involves testing healthy individuals and comparing the results with those from persons with MS to create a reliable database. Both groups of research subjects are about 70 percent women, reflecting the proportion of MS patients who are female.
“The persons with MS have been very cooperative and interested,” Jaric says. “Since we are still in the initial phase of our research, we are currently comparing our results with standard neurological and other clinical tests to assess the validity of our approach.
“Our long-term goal is to create a simple and inexpensive diagnostic tool, about the size of a large pen, which doctors can use to test hand function more accurately for patients who have neurological problems, such as Parkinson’s disease or strokes. Therefore, we have to gradually create a clinical test for using this tool to provide reliable and sensitive indices of hand function. Another long-term goal is to better understand hand coordination in general.”
Jaric credits the support his work has received from UD colleagues John Scholz, associate professor of physical therapy; Christopher Knight, assistant professor of health, nutrition and exercise sciences; and Kenneth Seaman, director of the MS assessment clinic in the physical therapy department. In addition to Marwaha, graduate students Jeffrey Collins in health, nutrition and exercise sciences and Leanna Ferrand in engineering have been involved in various aspects of the project.
The Delaware chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society also has assisted Jaric in screening research participants.
Jaric, who joined the UD faculty in 2002, received his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Belgrade, where
he then became a member of the physical education faculty. He also taught at the Institute for Medical Research in Belgrade. Before coming to Delaware, Jaric was a senior scientist at the Center for Musculo-Skeletal Research in Umea, Sweden, and an associate professor at the University of Umea. His research interests are motor control, motor learning and sports biomechanics.