Introduction: Maximal grip strength (MGS) is a reliable biomarker of overall health and physiological well-being. Therefore, an accurate and reliable measurement device is vital for ensuring the validity of the MGS assessment. This paper presents GripAble, a mobile handgrip device for the assessment of MGS. GripAble’s performance was evaluated using an inter-instrument reliability test against the widely used Jamar PLUS+ dynamometer.
Methods: The MGS data from sixty-three participants (N = 63) measured using GripAble and Jamar PLUS+ were collected and compared. Intra-class correlation (ICC) was performed to evaluate the inter-device reliability between GripAble and Jamar PLUS+. The influence of gender and hand on MGS were also analysed.
Results: GripAble demonstrates good-to-excellent inter-instrument reliability to the Jamar PLUS+ (ICC 3,1 =0.906). There were significant differences in the mean MGS between GripAble and Jamar PLUS+ (p <0.001 for both). GripAble’s measurement output is equivalent to 69% ([68-71]%) of Jamar PLUS+’s measurement output. The average difference in mean MGS between the two devices was 10.84 ± 4.18 kg ([4.77-18.54] kg), which increases with higher MGS. There were also significant differences in MGS between male and female and between right and left hands measured using GripAble and Jamar PLUS+ (p <0.001 for all comparisons).
Conclusion: GripAble has good-to-excellent inter-device reliability with Jamar PLUS+, suggesting that it can be used clinically as a dynamometer whilst also providing additional functionalities, such as remote assessment, objective evaluation of compliance to standard protocol and assessing multiple facets of grip strength beyond the standard single maximum grip test. Normative MGS data using GripAble should be collected and integrated into the software for immediate comparison. Further studies, including test-retest and inter-rater reliability of using GripAble, are discussed. 1 www.gripable.co BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders-GripAble vs Jamar v1.0 15/07/2021