Development of a new measure of fine sensory function

With the loss of sight, the blind individual must rely on tactile senses for function, and yet assessment o f hand sensibility is not routinely integrated into evaluations o f the blind. T h e available sensory measures lack the sensitivity to differentiate higher levels o f hand sensibility, and therefore, a new more sensitive measure o f fine sensory function was developed. A 3 X 3 braille dot cell was developed, and pattern variation was utilized to assess higher discriminatory abilities. Thirty blind and sighted subjects were evaluated, and intertester reliability o f fine sensory function (braille pattern identification) was established (r = 0.95). Comparison between braille identification and measures o f threshold and innervation density revealed the strongest correlational relationship with two-point discrimination. This study supports the assessment o f fine sensory function with braille pattern identification. (Plast. Reconstr. Surg. 92: 301, 1993.).