Grip strength analyzer apparatus and method of using same

US4884445A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• Armin M. Sadoff · US

Inventors

• Armin M. Sadoff · Beverly Hills, US
• Richard C. Nelson · San Francisco, US
• Gerald Smith · Easton, US
• Joseph Johnstonbaugh · Port Matilda, US
• Steven J. Sadoff · Chesterfield, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Nov 28, 1988
• Grant date: Dec 5, 1989
• Expiry date: Nov 28, 2008

Classification

• Technology area (CPC Y): Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
• CPC primary: Y10S482/902
• WIPO field: Medical technology
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

An otherwise conventional Jamar dynamometer is provided with a force transducer. The analog output of the force transducer is sampled at regular intervals and converted to a sequence of digital values by a conventional analog-to-digital converter. The digital output of the converter is processed by a conventional computer in real time to produce an output that clearly indicates the maximum force exerted by the subject and whether or not the subject was sincerely attempting to exert a maximum force while the test was in process. Preferably the output comprises both a graphic display of the forces exerted by the subject over a predetermined interval of time and a statistical analysis of those forces. The output data includes calculated discriminator variables which indicate with a high statistical accuracy whether the subject was sincerely exerting a maximal force on the dynamometer when instructed to do so. In an exemplary embodiment, the computer is a MS.TM. DOS compatible microcomputer and the analog-to-digital converter is a conventional accessory device that is adapted to be mounted in an expansion slot of such a microcomputer.