Assessment of Upper Extremity Function in Multiple Sclerosis: Feasibility of a Digital Pinching Test

BACKGROUND: The development of touchscreen-based assessments of upper extremity function could benefit people with multiple sclerosis (MS) by allowing convenient, quantitative assessment of their condition. The Pinching Test forms a part of the Floodlight smartphone app (F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Basel, Switzerland) for people with MS and was designed to capture upper extremity function. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the Pinching Test as a tool for remotely assessing upper extremity function in people with MS. METHODS: Using data from the 24-week, prospective feasibility study investigating the Floodlight Proof-of-Concept app for remotely assessing MS, we examined 13 pinching, 11 inertial measurement unit (IMU)–based, and 13 fatigability features of the Pinching Test. We assessed the test-retest reliability using intraclass correlation coefficients [second model, first type; ICC(2,1)], age- and sex-adjusted cross-sectional Spearman rank correlation, and known-groups validity (data aggregation: median [all features], SD [fatigability features]). RESULTS: We evaluated data from 67 people with MS (mean Expanded Disability Status Scale [EDSS]: 2.4 [SD 1.4]) and 18 healthy controls. In this cohort of early MS, pinching features were reliable [ICC(2,1)=0.54-0.81]; correlated with standard clinical assessments, including the Nine-Hole Peg Test (9HPT) (|r|=0.26-0.54; 10/13 features), EDSS (|r|=0.25-0.36; 7/13 features), and the arm items of the 29-item Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale (MSIS-29) (|r|=0.31-0.52; 7/13 features); and differentiated people with MS-Normal from people with MS-Abnormal (area under the curve: 0.68-0.78; 8/13 features). IMU-based features showed similar test-retest reliability [ICC(2,1)=0.47-0.84] but showed little correlations with standard clinical assessments. In contrast, fatigability features (SD aggregation) correlated with 9HPT time (|r|=0.26-0.61; 10/13 features), EDSS (|r|=0.26-0.41; 8/13 features), and MSIS-29 arm items (|r|=0.32-0.46; 7/13 features). CONCLUSIONS: The Pinching Test provides a remote, objective, and granular assessment of upper extremity function in people with MS that can potentially complement standard clinical evaluation. Future studies will validate it in more advanced MS. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02952911; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT02952911