Functional evaluation tools

The Neuromuscular Physiology and Evaluation Laboratory at the Institut de Myologie, led by Jean Yves Hogrel, is engaged in research to develop and assess various evaluation tools for the quantification of neuromuscular function, particularly for non-ambulatory patients.

Functional tools and methods are necessary both for the diagnosis of disease and the follow-up of motor unit performance. As the numbers of therapeutic trials in neuromuscular diseases increases, the need to improve the quantitative follow-up of patients becomes ever more apparent, and the work of both this work and that of the NMR lab is designed to develop methods of obtaining robust quantitative data in trials.

This work can also be combined with the implementation of protocols enabling a better understanding of the physiological mechanisms at the origin of the functional modifications observed.

Current work includes development of innovative medical devices, the set up of a sub-study on accelerometry in an international therapeutic trial, and analyses of strength measurement performed on innovative devices for the following muscle functions: handgrip, wrist extension/flexion and ankle extension/flexion.