Patent ID: 8206156

Claim:
A method for improving tactile sensitivity and precision and accuracy of motor control of the hand of a subject, utilizing a computing device to present stimuli to the subject, and to record responses from the subject, the method comprising: providing a joystick, communicatively coupled to the computing device, and configured to provide commands to the computing device, wherein the joystick comprises: a base; a shaft movably coupled to the base; and a textured surface covering at least a portion of the joystick, wherein the textured surface comprises a specified level of bumpiness; and executing a computer-implemented exercise, comprising: presenting one or more stimuli to the subject via a computer display, including presenting at least one target; requiring the subject to respond to the stimuli via the joystick, including requiring the subject to use the joystick to move a cursor to the at least one target, and, upon reaching the at least one target, disengage the subject's hand from the joystick, wherein the subject is required to perform said moving and reaching within a specified duration; recording the subject's response to the stimuli; determining whether the subject responded correctly to the stimuli; indicating to the subject whether the subject responded correctly to the stimuli; modifying the specified duration based on whether the subject responded correctly to the stimuli; and repeating said presenting, said requiring, said recording, said determining, said indicating, and said modifying a plurality of times in an iterative manner to improve tactile sensitivity, and precision and accuracy of motor control of the hand of the subject, wherein said repeating comprises performing a plurality of trials under each of a plurality of conditions, wherein each condition specifies one or more attributes of the stimuli, their presentation, and/or the textured surface of the joystick, and wherein the conditions become more difficult as the exercise progresses, and wherein said performing a plurality of trials under each of a plurality of conditions comprises progressively modifying one or more of the attributes as the subject progresses through the exercise, and wherein said presenting one or more stimuli comprises presenting a plurality of targets in succession, including presenting a path to each successive target; wherein said requiring the subject to respond comprises: for each target, requiring the subject to move the cursor to the target along the path for the target using the joystick, hold the cursor in the target for a specified time interval, and disengage from the joystick; and wherein each successive target is presented only after the previous target has been responded to.