Kinarm Dexterit-E
Rapidly implement research protocol without having to be a professional programmer
Dexterit-E is behavioural control and data acquisition software that operates Kinarm Labs. It allows you to focus on creating experiments with custom tasks, while Dexterit-E safely manages the control of the robots. There are almost limitless possibilities for the types of Custom Tasks that can be created with Dexterit-E software, including Custom Loading conditions, such as perturbations, position control and haptic interactions. Custom visualizations are also possible, including real-time hand feedback and custom behaviours.
Features
- Unparalleled flexibility to create the experiment you want.
- Create complete custom tasks to suit each end user’s unique needs.
- Limitless possibilities for the types of Custom Tasks that can be created.
- Easy-to-use interface on a Microsoft Windows® computer.
- Precise, reliable control and measurement of the system under study.
- Start collecting data immediately with Kinarm Standard Tests. No programming is required.
Specifications & Information Sheets
System Specifications
Dexterit-E is Easy to Use
- An accessible and familiar experience is achieved via a standard Windows-based user interface using easy to follow methods.
- Data is organized using an incorporated subject database that provides for ease of subject creation, data collection over study time points and multiple exporting options to
facilitate data analysis. - Kinarm Standard Tests (optional) allow immediate data collection, with instant analysis and comparison to normative models; no programming is required.
- Task protocols provide a non-programming method of customizing task behaviour to easily iterate task development and customization.
- Study Protocols ensure consistent data collection and simplify multi-institutional collaborations.
- Workspace visualization allows an operator to continually monitor task progress and subject behaviour in order to ensure exam integrity and safety.
Dexterit-E is Versatile
- An open platform for creating Custom Task Programs allowing the user to explore novel behavioural paradigms in a controlled environment.
- Supports many peripherals essential to neuroscience research. Integrated peripherals (such as gaze-tracker, force-torque sensors, and force plates) are fully controlled by Dexterit-E. Non-integrated peripherals (such as EMG) are recorded synchronously with kinematic data. Any technology that accepts digital or analog inputs/outputs can be used with a Kinarm Lab.
- Rich data export options of synchronized raw data to MATLAB or in CSV format for in-depth analysis.
Dexterit-E is Robust
- Task Programs are created using industry standard Mathworks’ MATLAB® with Simulink® and Stateflow® to ensure a formalized structure that facilitates error-free implementation of desired behaviour.
- Task Programs are executed on a real-time computer, providing precise, reliable control and measurement of the system under study.
- Kinarm is an ISO 13485 registered company, ensuring Dexterit-E has been developed using rigorous and vetted quality control measures to ensure you spend more time doing science and less time managing your tools.
Control Hardware
- Dexterit-E runs on a Windows computer.
- Dexterit-E sends all task programs to a real-time computer to control the robots.
- Real-time control of the experiment is at 4 kHz (with R2015 SP1 and later). Data is saved at either 1 kHz or optionally down-sampled to 200 Hz.
- Presently support MATLAB versions R2015a SP1 and R2019b. For further details on required MATLAB toolboxes visit our support page.
- All computers are custom designed to meet our exacting specifications.
- We recommend replacement every 5 years.
Applications
Kinarm Labs give users unparalleled flexibility to create the “experiment” you want.
To do this you must create a Custom Task Program: a small program used by Dexterit-E that defines and controls the system behavior during a single trial of a task.
Task Programs are created in
MathWork’s Simulink® development environment, a high-level, graphical programming language. Use of Simulink enforces a formalized structure that facilitates error-free implementation of desired behavior. A library of Simulink blocks and ready-to-run demonstration tasks assist with rapid Custom Task Program creation. MathWork’s Stateflow® is the tool used for defining “an event-driven system” or “finite state-machine.” It can be thought of as a flowchart that defines system behaviour.
End-User Customization of Custom Task Programs.
Dexterit-E allows operators to create completely custom tasks to suit each end user’s unique needs. There are two layers of task customization provided by Dexterit-E. Each of these layers provides a different level of flexibility and requires a different level of expertise. This dual-level approach allows novice users the flexibility to modify parameters of pre-built tasks without any programming, while simultaneously allowing the experienced user the flexibility to create a completely novel task.
Level 1:
The first layer of customization involves the Task Protocol. Users of Dexterit-E must choose and load a Task Protocol in order to ‘run’ a task. Once loaded, the parameters that make up a Task Protocol can be modified and a new Task Protocol can be saved. Examples of typical Task Protocol parameters include: number, order and randomization of trials, target locations, loading conditions, pause conditions and many others. Specification of a Task Protocol occurs directly within the Dexterit-E user interface, using parameter tables. No programming is necessary to alter a Task Protocol.
Level 2:
The second layer of customization is more advanced and more powerful: the ability to create and/or customize a Task Program. Task Programs are programs used by Dexterit-E that define and control system behavior during a task. They are created using Simulink® and Stateflow® (from MathWorks) outside of Dexterit-E.
There are almost limitless possibilities for the types of Custom Tasks that can be created. Here are some examples:
Custom Loading conditions, such as:
- Perturbations
- Position control
- Springs
- Viscous and/or curl fields
- Haptic interactions
- Force Channels
- Multiple simultaneous loads (e.g. force-field + perturbation)
Custom Visualizations, such as:
- Real-time hand feedback
- Dissociation of the visual and mechanical worlds (spatially and/or temporally; e.g. visuomotor rotation task
- Complex visual stimuli, such as moving targets
- Feedback to the subject (e.g. scores, success/fail indicators, graphical indicators)
- Custom Behaviours
- Context dependent feedback (e.g. target location dependent upon subject speed)
- Random selection of times/colours/loads
Best Used by
Basic Researchers
- Dexterit-E allows rapid implementation of your research protocol without having to be professional programmers
- Offers total precision control with the accessibility of a Windows-based User Interface.
Clinical Researchers
- With Kinarm Standard Tests provides assessment right out of the box, ensuring rapid study implementation from a broad selection of behavioural tasks with no requirement to collect normative data or analyze data.
- Provides robust management of subject records and creation of study protocols with defined workflows to ensure error-free data collection and data export.
