Functional Reach Measurement Board
An Integrated Community Rehabilitation Team (ICRT) in East Dorset – that specialises in helping people with Parkinson’s Disease – requested a repeat of a previous REMAP solution for carrying out Functional Reach Measurement that had been provided by former maker Bob Mackinnon for a different site in 2008. The requirement is to accurately measure how far a patient can reach forward (from upright) without falling over; this is one indicator of a patient’s motor control.
The Challenge
The common method of measuring functional reach is to make marks on a wall by eye while watching the movement of the patient. This can result in significant inaccuracy in judging the position of the patient’s hand relative to the wall, and it normally needs two members of staff to carry it out for safety.
No commercial solution was available in 2008 and also now (2026). The 2008 REMAP solution solved the accuracy problem by mounting a ruler on the wall, with a graticule mark close to the ruler that is moved along by the movement of the patient’s hand. Since the measurement method was all wall-mounted, it only required one member of staff. The 2026 solution is a close copy of the previous one.
The measurement has to be done at the height of the patient’s shoulder, and so the height of the ruler has to suit all patients’ body sizes, sitting or standing. It has to be usable in both directions, to suit left- and right-handed patients.
The main safety consideration is that if the movable parts are accidentally knocked, they cannot fall on someone’s foot.
The solution
A softwood batten is fitted with an L-shaped aluminium profile on the top edge to form a track for the rolling wheels of the “truck” carrying the graticule lines. The batten has an aluminium bar which acts as a sliding ledge for the steel rule. Five miniature magnets are inset into the batten. The steel rule is held on the front face of the batten by the magnets but it can be slid sideways so that the starting position of the “paddle” (see below) can be set to zero on the ruler.
A “truck” is fabricated from L-shaped aluminium profile, which is used to mount two miniature fixed-castor wheels and a clear acrylic panel for the graticule lines. A plywood “paddle” is fitted to the front of the panel for the patient to push. The paddle is moved to the patient’s starting position. The paddle is hinged to allow it to be turned flat to the panel for stowing it when not in use. A top hinged bracket fixes the paddle in either the in-use or stowed positions.
Paddle on truck, in deployed postion
Two Starquick PVC wall-mounting rails by Walraven were fixed to the wall so that the hooks at each end of the batten can pick up on one of the aperture on the rails to set the correct height.
Steel cables connect the centre of each rail to the ends of the batten, so that if the batten is accidentally unhooked it cannot fall further than the lower required height. Similarly a cord is used between the centre of the batten and the “truck” to restrain its movement if it is accidentally knocked out of its track.
The benefit
The team staff are now able – working singly – to accurately and quickly measure the functional reach of their patients, thereby freeing up therapy time. The improved accuracy should provide better confidence in assessing small changes in the patients’ condition.
Senior Rehab Therapy Assistant Nhadia Steer said that the equipment was “perfect for the task”.
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