Development of a new high sensitivity mechanical switch for augmentative and alternative communication access in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Table 1 Demographic and clinical details of patients

Patient	Type	Gender	Age (yrs)	Disease duration (months)	Residual Movement	Strength of residual movement	ALSFRS-R	Previous Switch (failed)
1	Spinal	M	60	55	Ring flex	3	1	MicroLight
2	Spinal	M	62	84	Middle flex	4	3	Platform
3	Spinal	M	59	84	Thumb add	4	3	Pillow
4	Bulbar	F	61	24	Middle flex	3	9	Squarepad
5	Bulbar	F	73	33	Index flex	3	9	MicroLight
6	Bulbar	F	69	20	Thumb add	4	8	MicroLight
7	Bulbar	F	70	22	Index flex	3	7	Roundpad
8	Spinal	M	64	81	Middle flex	3	8	Roundpad
9	Spinal	M	42	38	Index flex	3	2	MicroLight
10	Spinal	M	44	30	Index flex	5	2	Pillow
11	Spinal	M	51	90	Middle flex	2	9	Plate
12	Spinal	M	84	31	Index flex	2	9	Plate
13	Spinal	M	67	29	Thumb add	3	1	Pillow
14	Spinal	M	42	68	Index flex	4	2	Pillow
15	Spinal	M	44	80	Index flex	4	2	Roundpad
16	Spinal	M	75	24	Thumb add	3	2	MicroLight
17	Spinal	F	50	22	Index flex	4	2	Pillow
18	Spinal	F	66	38	Middle flex	4	8	Squarepad
19	Spinal	M	50	60	Middle flex	6	17	Platform
20	Spinal	M	65	86	Middle flex	6	16	Platform
Mean			59.90	49.95	Median	3.50	5.00
SD			11.97	26.27	IQR	3–4	2–9

IQR Interquartile range, flex flexion, add adduction. Strength of residual movement was measured by the 11-level Kendall scale for thumb and fingers strength: score from 0 (= no muscle contraction) to 10 (= normal strength)

ISSN: 1743-0003