Abstract
Touch is a crucial sense for perceiving the spatial characteristics of
objects. The JVP dome was developed to evaluate tactile spatial acuity
using a grating orientation task. The application of the traditional JVP
dome to assess tactile function was limited by the ceiling effect,
excessive transition gap between grating widths causing inaccurate
tactile discrimination threshold measurement, and predictive bias due to
the common execution protocol using grating widths in sequence. In this
study, we included additional grating domes and proposed a modified
examining protocol for estimating tactile discrimination thresholds to
improve the accuracy of tactile function assessment. Twelve healthy
participants were enrolled in this experiment. Extended JVP domes with
11 different groove widths were designed. Tactile discrimination
thresholds were estimated using a modified two-down-one-up staircase
method. The experiment comprised practice, training, and testing
sessions, conducted by trained examiners who performed grating
stimulation on participants index fingerpads. All participants passed
the required accuracy in the practice and training sessions. Eight
transition points were obtained in the testing session for each
participant, and tactile discrimination thresholds were all within the
width range of the extended JVP domes. The mean tactile discrimination
threshold was 2.09 ± 0.84 mm. The results demonstrated that the proposed
modified JVP dome set and protocol were successfully applied to assess
tactile discrimination thresholds. The modified protocol with extended
JVP domes provided an effective assessment of tactile function and
improved the precision of threshold measurements, avoided the ceiling
effect found in traditional JVP dome, and eliminated predictive bias.