Kinarm Standard Tests

The KST range comprises a suite of standardised protocols, allowing a clinical researcher to conduct a broad-based assessment of brain function in a very short period (~30-60 minutes, dependent on the tasks chosen and the severity of the subject's impairment). With these tests, KST is able to measure and identify subtle but statistically significant changes in the subject's performance, providing an essential change indicator to researchers developing targeted therapies for brain injury or disease.

Kinarm Labs allow clinical researchers to:

• Differentiate – Identify subject-specific behavioural measures that uniquely characterise the subject’s neurological deficits
• Select – Identify subjects for research protocols based on their deficit profile
• Target – Design new patient-centred therapies to address the patient's specific impairments or disease
• Measure – Collect objective data on the subject’s response to therapies
• Advance – Translate treatments for brain injury from lab to the clinic.

Kinarm Standard Tests vary widely in complexity, with certain highly-complex tasks allowing the researcher to quantify how different brain circuits interact to generate purposeful behaviour, while other more simple tasks allow the researcher to isolate specific brain functions in order to help pinpoint specific impairments.

Each task within the KST has been engineered specifically to require only very simple instructions for the patient/subject and to be short in duration while still delivering insightful results. The analysis of the data collected by the KST produces parameters that demonstrate face validity; are repeatable and responsive; provide continuous measures of performance, and help to minimise the aforementioned floor and ceiling effects.

While all of the Kinarm Standard Tests were developed specifically for use in adults, Dexterit-E™ (Kinarm Lab's Operating & Control Software) now also includes a full range of child-friendly protocols as standard. Normative models have been developed for subjects aged 18-85 years old for adult protocols. While adult-sized individuals under 18 years old are able to perform these protocols, their Z-scores are calculated as though they were 18 years old; typical ranges of performance are not provided for this age group, but normative models are under development for these child protocols and are part of a future release of KST.

Kinarm Standard Tests are not indicated for subjects who do not have adequate cognitive function to understand task instructions, and/or who do not have visual and/or auditory acuity to permit adequate perception of instructions or task stimuli.

Details on each task, parameters and exemplary reports are available in the KST Summary available for download on the Kinarm website.   All tests have been published in leading, peer-reviewed publications (Bourke et al, 2016; Lowrey et al, 2014; Hawkins et al, 2015; Tyryshkin et al, 2014; Semrau et al, 2013, Dukelow et al, 2010; Coderre et al, 2010.)   The original citation(s) used in the design of each task are listed on the Publications page of Kinarm’s website.