Reliability of the M-FLEX™: Equipment to measure palmar grasp strength in infants

The palmar grasp behavior investigation is frequent in evaluation routine of infants. The aim of this study was to determine the reliability of an instrument for measuring palmar grasp strength in infants from birth to four months of age. Thirty-nine healthy infants from both sexes from birth to four months of age were evaluated and divided into three groups (“SC”, “FR”, “BL”) according to the city they came from. The equipment under test is called M-FLEX®, which provides maximum grasp strength (FMAX), mean grasp strength (FMEAN) and grasp time (GRT) values. The repeatability and reproducibility of measures produced by the M-FLEX™ were verified. Three measurements were obtained (M1, M2, M3) from both hands, with the infant's face turned to the right. To calculate the repeatability, the three measures were compared to themselves in each group. For reproducibility, the difference between the averages of M1 of the three variables provided by M-FLEX™ was verified in the three sampling sites. The statistical tests used were ANOVA, Pearson's correlation and calculation of the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) with their respective confidence intervals (CI). The M-FLEX™ proved to be an outfit that provides measures capable of characterizing the palmar grasp phenomenon in infants.

Research highlights▶ The palmar grasp behavior investigation is frequent in evaluation routine of infants. The aim of this study was to determine the reliability of an instrument for measuring palmar grasp strength in infants from birth to four months of age. ▶ The repeatability and reproducibility of measures produced by the M-FLEX™ were verified.