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Background: Patients with rheumatic diseases are particularly limited in their manual activities [1]. Handscupe^® is an ergonomic medical device fabricated to meet the needs of rheumatic patients by improving hand function and symptoms.

Methods: Handscupe^® was given to 32 rheumatic patients (mainly presenting with rheumatoid arthritis) during a 3-week rehabilitation program. 26 Patients used handscupe^® 60 minutes daily. The following parameters were collected: objective measures of hand function (hand grip strength measured by vigorimeter), patient reported outcome parameters like morning stiffness, level of pain and standardized questionnaires: FFbH (Hannover functional questionnaire), RAID (Rheumatoid Arthritis Impact of Disease), WHO-5 (Well-Being index), PHQ-9 (patient health questionnaire), laboratory parameters and disease activity scores (DAS28).

Results: Initial DAS28 was 2.9±1.0. The majority of patients show increase in hand grip on the right hand (p <0,05) and improvement of overall well-being (WHO questionnaire, p <0,05). Disease activity measured by doctors and described by patients show contradicting results. Physicians see an objective improvement whereas the patients see a subjective slightly worsening of general disease activity.

Discussion: The first results show a tendency for improvement in hand function and well-being.

In this small study population of 26 patients, and with probable biases due to rehabilitation measures affecting the results, we cannot make a definitive statement about the effectiveness of handscupe^® at this moment. The study shows a very promising trend and suggests satisfactory results in a confirmatory prospective randomized controlled clinical study of the effects of handscupe^® in patients with rheumatic diseases. These positive tendencies could be verified involving a larger study population and an outpatient setting.

Disclosure statement: The study was funded by iMEDgine.

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

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