ECS - Researcher Profiles - Dr Cheryl Metcalf

Researcher in Electronic Systems and Devices Group

If time and money were no object for Dr Cheryl Metcalf, she would study hands for the rest of her life.

She never even knew that she was interested in hands and biomechanics until she embarked on a PhD in which she studied dynamic hand movement.

'Up until recently, it has not been possible to study dynamic hand movements,' she said. 'Now, with improvements in movement analysis systems, we have developed a model which makes it possible for the first time to assess true hand function and record it using 3D movement analysis.'

Cheryl became fascinated by the possibility of measuring something as interesting as hand function, particularly as the complexity of functional hand movements makes them historically very difficult to measure.

'The hand is how we interact with the world,' she said. 'It provides us with many of our communication skills, yet it tends to be overlooked in terms of health funding.'

Cheryl has taken steps to put this right and at the time of this interview, is just about to launch a portable kit which will enable clinicians to assess patients with different impairments. A version of this kit has also been adapted to study hand function in 3D with the model she has developed.

The kit, which is called SHAP (the Southampton Hand Assessment Procedure) contains 26 daily activity tasks, such as opening jars and pouring cartons. All the tasks are timed and the score is fed into an online computer software system.

SHAP was begun initially about nine years ago to assess the effectiveness and function and prosthetics.

Cheryl's work in this field has also led to her and a team of clinicians from the School of Health Professions & Rehabilitation Sciences, along with the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester to prove the case for silver ring splints. These are rings which correct hyperextension in the fingers of people affected by Rheumatoid Arthritis.

'These silver ring splints have been commercially available in different parts of the world for a while,' she said. 'Men and women wear them and they look a lot nicer than the plastic alternatives currently available – which means people are more likely to wear them.’

Cheryl's interest in human hands was sparked when she worked in robotics and looked at robotic grippers.

She did a degree in Computer Studies at the University of Sunderland, followed by an MSc in Evolutionary Systems at the University of Sussex.

In 2003, she came to the University of Southampton to do her PhD in which she investigated the relationship between movement and function in the wrist and hand, which was funded by the Life Sciences Interfaces Forum.

'The Life Sciences Interfaces Forum has made it possible for clinicians and engineers to find a common language,' she said. 'I love the challenges in biomechanics. Hand function is probably the most fascinating area that I have come across.'

So Cheryl plans to continue her career in biomechanics and is waiting for her online software system to get ethical clearance and become available to clinicians. So fingers crossed in the meantime ...