Reliability and validity of the robotic brace for dynamic trunk support system for trunk control function assessment in patients with spinal cord injury / 中国康复医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To investigate the test-retest reliability and criterion validity of the Robotic Brace for Dynamic Trunk Support System(RoboBDsys)in evaluating seated trunk control function in patients with spinal cord in-jury(SCI). Method:From October to December,2022,20 patients with spinal cord injury who were unable to walk were recruited.All participants completed RoboBDsys trunk control test including static control test and dynam-ic control test on the seated platform.The evaluation indexes were the supporting torque regression slope exert-ed by the robot platform on the direction of x,y,α,and θ,recorded as Kx,Ky,Kθ,Kα;the average sup-porting torque recorded as Fx,Fy,Mθ,Mα in the static control test;and the the Range of Motion(ROM)of trunk in four directions in the dynamic control test.All the participants completed Trunk Control Test(TCT)as criterion assessment.The test interval was one week,intraclass correlation coefficient(ICC)values were calculated between two RoboBDsys trunk control test. Result:There were 13 participants completed two tests.In the static control test,the ICCs of four indexes were 0.418-0.742 between 2 tests;the ICCs of all indexes in dynamic control test were 0.633-0.848,which all showed moderate to high test-retest reliability.In regards of criterion validity,there was low to mod-erate correlation between Ky,Mθ,Mα in static control test and TCT(|r|=0.467-0.561,P＜0.05);all indexes except right lateral flection ROM in dynamic control test showed moderate to high correlation with TCT(r=0.559-0.758,P＜0.05). Conclusion:RoboBDsys is a reliable and valid tool for evaluating seated trunk control function in patients with SCI.