BAM Index: measuring arm and hand behavior in infants and toddlers

Development of Upper Extremity Behavioral Assessment Methods for Reach-and-grasp and Physical Rehabilitation.

This project tries a set of behavioral measurements to see if they can reliably describe arm, hand, and other developmental skills in infants and toddlers with and without perinatal stroke or hemiparetic cerebral palsy.

Quick facts

• Study type: Observational
• Enrollment: 80 (estimated)
• Ages: 4 Months to 36 Months
• Sex: All
• Sponsor: Ohio State University (Academic / other)
• Locations: 1 site (Columbus, Ohio)
• Trial ID: NCT07291479 on ClinicalTrials.gov

What this trial studies

The BAM Index project develops and refines behavioral measurement methods for young children with and without perinatal arterial ischemic stroke and hemiparetic cerebral palsy. It combines analysis of video and outcome data from the multi-site I-ACQUIRE randomized trial with a prospective, longitudinal observational cohort of typically developing children aged 8–36 months. Study visits include standardized play-based and motor, language, cognition, and social-emotional assessments and video-recorded behavioral tasks focused on arm and hand use. No therapeutic intervention is provided; the goal is to create reliable metrics that can be used in future clinical and research settings.

Who should consider this trial

Good fit: Ideal candidates are children aged 8–36 months who were born full-term and are either represented in the I-ACQUIRE dataset with PAS/HCP or are typically developing without sensory, cognitive, or motor impairments for the prospective cohort.

Not a fit: Children born preterm, older than 36 months, those with diagnosed auditory, visual, cognitive, or motor impairments excluded by the protocol, or families seeking active treatment will not benefit directly since this study provides no intervention.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, clinicians and researchers would have a more reliable, standardized way to measure early arm and hand function, which could improve tracking of development and timing of interventions.

How similar studies have performed: Related work has used observational video and standardized scales to measure infant motor behavior and some tools exist, but using multi-site RCT video data combined with a new prospective typical cohort to create the BAM Index is a relatively novel approach.

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

* Between 8 and 36 months old at baseline
* Full Term Birth (37 to 41 weeks gestation)
* Healthy development (meeting age-appropriate milestones)

Exclusion Criteria:

* Diagnosed or suspected impairments (auditory, visual, cognitive or motor)

Where this trial is running

Columbus, Ohio

• The Ohio State University — Columbus, Ohio, United States (Recruiting)

Study contacts

• Study coordinator: Jill Heathcock, PhD

Conditions Infant Development; Perinatal Stroke; Hemiparesis; Cerebral Palsy