The CAM test: a novel tool to quantify the decline in vertical upper limb pointing movements with ageing

Abstract

The CAM test appears as a robust and low cost tool to quantify upper limb pointing movements. In particular, the test strongly discriminates the effects of age upon motor performances in upper limbs. Future studies are now required to establish the sensitivity, specificity and reliability of this procedure in selected neuromuscular or skeletal diseases affecting the elderly.

The Click Test: A Novel Tool to Quantify the Age-Related Decline of Fast Motor Sequencing of the Thumb

“…Third, subjects performed significantly better on the Click Test using the dominant hand, which indicates that the Click Test is sensitive to handedness. These three findings were comparable to the findings of the CAM test reported earlier [8]. However, in contrast to the CAM test, the sym- metry index for the Click Test is independent of the test duration and the 45/15 ratios are similar on the dominant and non-dominant side, indicating that the 45/15 ratios are not influenced by handedness for the Click Test.…”

“…(5); p < 0.001 in the young age group and the middle age group; old age group: p = 0.006 for T15, p = 0.005 for T30, P = 0.003 for T45). For the whole group of subjects, the values of the symmetry index (ratio of the scores of the dominant/scores on the non-dominant side) were similar for T15, T30 and T45 sec (p = 0.623; by contrast, the symmetry index was higher for 45 sec as compared to 15 sec for the CAM test [8]). Moreover, unlike for the CAM test (this test is characterized by ratios 45/15 significantly higher on the dominant side as compared to the non-dominant side), we found no statistically significant difference (p = 0.171) for the ratios 45/15 between the dominant side (mean +/-SD: 2.68 +/-0.404; median: 2.66, 25%: 2.47, 75%: 2.85) and the non-dominant side (mean +/-SD: 2.65 +/ 0.397; median: 2.63, 25%: 2.49, 75%: 2.78) for the Click Test.…”

“…Handedness was formally assessed by means the Edinburgh inventory using previously reported cut-offs to distinguish right-handed, left-handed and ambidextrous subjects [8,25]. The Cochin scale was used as a functional measure of the ability of the hand [26].…”

“…The repetitive flexions of the thumb are performed successively as fast as possible during three durations (15, 30 and 45 seconds; Dominant side: T15 Dom, T30 Dom, T45 Dom; Non-Dominant side: T15 Non Dom, T30 Non Dom, T45 Non Dom). We selected these durations on the basis of (1) our previous experience with the horizontal pointing test [28] and the CAM test [8]; and (2) the observation that most healthy adults report fatigue and show a decrease of motor performances (meaning a clear decrease in the rate of number of clicks on the counters) during successive pointing movements which outlast 50-55 sec [28]. As a consequence, we decided not to use a test duration longer than 50 seconds to avoid the drop in performance associated with fatigue in the upper limb.…”

“…A novel procedure to quantify the performances of visually-guided pointing movements (involving proximal and distal joints) towards fixed targets (mechanical counters) located in the vertical plane using a portable platform (CAM test) was reported recently [8]. The following observations were made (1) a highly significant linear correlation between motor performance (number of clicks) and test duration; (2) a significant decline in performances in the elderly;…”