The purpose of this study was to examine aging and bimanual effects on finger spatial stability during precision grip. Twenty-one older and 21 younger adults performed precision grip tasks consisting of a single task (grip and lift an object with the thumb and index finger) and a dual task (the grip-lifting task with one hand and a peg board task with the other hand). The center of pressure (COP) trajectory and the grip force were evaluated using a pressure sensor with a high spatial resolution. In the COP trajectory, the main effects of age for the thumb (F_1,140 = 46.17, p < 0.01) and index finger (F_1,140 = 22.14, p < 0.01) and task difficulty for the thumb (F_1,140 = 6.47, p = 0.01) were significant based on ANCOVA. The COP trajectory was statistically decreased in the older adults. The COP trajectory was also decreased in the dual task, regardless of age. The results suggest the existence of a safety strategy to prioritize the spatial stability in the elderly group and in the dual task. This study provides new insights into the interpretation of the COP trajectory.

Introduction: The prospective, historically controlled study evaluated whether a collaborative practice (CP) model between nurses and occupational therapists improves activities of daily living (ADLs) and reduces the use of disposable absorbent products and physical restraints in hospitalized older patients. Methods: Data from the historical control group ( n = 72), who received usual care, were collected from medical records, and the intervention group ( n = 46), who participated in the CP‐based intervention, was recruited in a community‐based care ward in a regional hospital. The CP model was designed to facilitate collaborative planning for improving ADLs between nurses and occupational therapists. Outcome measures included disposable absorbent product use, physical restraint use, and the functional independence measure (FIM). Assessments were conducted at admission and discharge. Propensity score matching was applied to balance baseline characteristics between groups and to reduce potential confounding factors. Results: Propensity score matching generated 45 pairs (“historical controls,” n = 45, and “interventions,” n = 45). Although physical restraint use was reduced in both groups ( p ≤ 0.007), the use of disposable absorbent products in the intervention group was significantly reduced compared to the historical control group ( p = 0.020). Additionally, significant interaction effects were observed between time and group for all FIM scores, indicating greater improvements in ADLs in the intervention group, with moderate to large effect sizes ( p ≤ 0.013, partial η ² ≥ 0.068). Conclusions: This study demonstrated the positive impact of a CP model between nurses and occupational therapists in improving ADLs and reducing disposable absorbent product use in older patients. These findings suggest that this model of CP enhances the quality of geriatric care. Trial Registration: UMIN Clinical Trials Registry number: UMIN000047072.

The aim of this study was to assess the characteristics of visual search behavior in elderly drivers in reverse parking. Fourteen healthy elderly and fourteen expert drivers performed a perpendicular parking task. The parking process was divided into three consecutive phases (Forward, Reverse, and Straighten the wheel) and the visual search behavior was monitored using an eye tracker (Tobii Pro Glasses 2). In addition, driving-related tests and quality of life were evaluated in elderly drivers. As a result, elderly drivers had a shorter time of gaze at the vertex of the parking space both in direct vision and reflected in the driver-side mirror during the Forward and the Reverse phases. In contrast, they had increased gaze time in the passenger-side mirror in the Straighten the wheel phase. Multiple regression analysis revealed that quality of life could be predicted by the total gaze time in the Straighten the wheel phase (β = −0.45), driving attitude (β = 0.62), and driving performance (β = 0.58); the adjusted R² value was 0.87. These observations could improve our understanding of the characteristics of visual search behavior in parking performance and how this behavior is related to quality of life in elderly drivers.

The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of ageing on reaching motion using a simple and quantitative method. An Electronic Evaluation System of Upper Extremity Function incorporating a motion sensor was used to monitor kinematic changes during a whack-a-mole type task. Sixteen healthy elderly adults (3 males and 13 females, mean age 78.8±6.0 years) and nineteen young adults (3 males and 16 females, mean age 22.1±2.8 years) participated in this study. The participants were asked to continue tapping 16 targets randomly presented on the screen. Based on the kinematic data, the tremor value, spatial travel distance, tapping time, and maximal spatial acceleration were calculated. Differences between elderly and young adults were tested using unpaired-t test. Significant differences were observed in all kinematic parameters, suggesting decreased reaching motion in elderly adults. Moreover, overall positive correlations between parameters were found. Our results suggest that kinematic parameters calculated from the motion sensor technology could be useful to evaluate reaching motion quantitatively and simply.

Background/Aims: The aim of the present study was to examine the potential association between a specific gaze behavior, “overstay fixations,” observed during the Trail Making Test, and cognitive functional independence after stroke. Methods: This study was a cross-sectional, observational study. Hospitalized patients with mild stroke (n = 12) and healthy young adults (n = 19) performed the electronic version of Trail Making Test. The number of overstay fixations and the total completion time were measured. In the patients with mild stroke, the total time in conventional Japanese version of Trail Making Test and the cognitive scores in Functional Independence Measure were measured. Findings: The mild stroke group showed significantly more overstay fixations as task difficulty increased ( p = 0.005). A significant correlation existed between the overstay fixations during the electronic version of Trail Making Test part A and the cognitive Functional Independence Measure scores for Comprehension ( r = -0.643) and Memory ( r = -0.610). Multiple regression revealed that the total time and overstay fixations in the electronic version of the Trail Making Test were more strongly associated with the Comprehension score (R² = 0.850) compared with the total time in the paper-based Trail Making Test (R² = 0.397). Similarly, the Memory score showed stronger associations with the total time and overstay fixations in the electronic version of the Trail Making Test (R² = 0.684) than with the total time in the paper-based version (R² = 0.391). Conclusions: The overstay fixation was associated with specific domains of cognitive functional independence in patients with mild stroke.