Evaluation of AI-Mouse Use in Patients With Hand and Wrist Conditions

People with hand and wrist conditions, such as carpal tunnel syndrome or hand injuries, often experience pain and discomfort when using a computer mouse. This study will evaluate a new artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted computer input system ("AI-mouse") designed to reduce the amount of hand movement needed during computer tasks. Participants will complete short computer-based tasks using both a conventional mouse and the AI-assisted system while researchers measure task performance, muscle activity using surface electromyography (EMG), and participants' ratings of pain, physical strain, and usability. The study aims to determine whether the AI-assisted system can reduce physical effort and muscle load while maintaining effective computer interaction. Findings may help improve accessible computer technologies and support the development of ergonomic tools for people with hand and wrist impairments.

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Wrist Injuries; Hand Injuries; Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS); Wounds and Injuries, Hands; Wounds and Injuries, Wrists
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: Conventional Computer Mouse; Device: AI-Assisted Computer Input System

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 15
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Jose Berengueres, PhD; Phone Number: +7 778 358 18 26; Email: jose.berengueres@nu.edu.kz
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Dina Kalinina, MD; Phone Number: +77756238719; Email: dina.kalinina@nu.edu.kz

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Adults aged 18-65 years
• Diagnosis of a hand or wrist condition, including carpal tunnel syndrome or hand/wrist injury.
• Receiving care at the Hand Surgery Department of the National Scientific Center of Traumatology and Orthopedics.
• Medically stable and assessed by a study physician as able to safely perform light computer-based hand movements.
• Able to understand the study procedures and provide written informed consent.
• Normal or corrected-to-normal vision sufficient to complete computer-based tasks.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Severe pain or acute symptoms that may be aggravated by computer task performance.
• Postoperative restrictions limiting hand or wrist movement.
• Severe motor impairment preventing completion of the study tasks.
• Cognitive or neurological disorders that interfere with understanding study procedures or task performance.
• Uncorrected visual impairment that interferes with computer use.
• Any medical condition that, in the opinion of the study physician, would make participation unsafe.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
• Allocation: Non-Randomized
• Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Conventional Mouse; Participants perform standardized computer pointing tasks using a conventional computer mouse. Performance (task completion time, error rate, throughput), surface electromyography (EMG) of upper-limb muscles, and participant-reported outcomes (pain, physical strain, and usability) are assessed during task completion.	Device: Conventional Computer Mouse; A standard computer mouse used for conventional point-and-click interaction. Participants complete the same standardized computer tasks as in the experimental condition, allowing direct comparison of task performance, upper-limb muscle activity measured by surface electromyography (EMG), and participant-reported pain, physical strain, and usability.
Experimental: AI-Mouse (Preview-Accept-Discard [PAD] System); Participants perform the same standardized computer tasks using the AI-Mouse, a predictive human-computer interaction system based on the Preview-Accept-Discard (PAD) paradigm. The system generates AI-assisted action suggestions that can be accepted or discarded using minimal keyboard input, reducing cursor movement. Performance, surface electromyography (EMG), and participant-reported outcomes (pain, physical strain, and usability) are assessed during task completion.	Device: AI-Assisted Computer Input System; A non-invasive computer input system that uses artificial intelligence to predict the user's intended on-screen action. Instead of relying primarily on continuous cursor movement and mouse clicking, the system presents predicted actions that participants can preview, accept, or discard using minimal keyboard input. The intervention is designed to reduce repetitive hand movements during computer interaction while preserving user control. Participants complete standardized computer tasks using the system during a single study session lasting less than four minutes.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
APDF90 surface electromyography (sEMG) amplitude	90th percentile amplitude probability distribution function (APDF90) of the processed sEMG envelope recorded from selected upper-limb muscles during standardized computer tasks.	Baseline (during each intervention condition on Day 1)
Muscular rest time	Percentage of task duration during which the processed sEMG envelope remained below the predefined muscular-rest threshold of 2 µV.	Baseline (during each intervention condition on Day 1)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Integrated squared dynamic acceleration	Cumulative dynamic movement workload measured by tri-axial accelerometry and expressed as integrated squared dynamic acceleration (mG²·s).	Baseline (during each intervention condition on Day 1)
90th percentile dynamic acceleration	Peak dynamic movement intensity measured by tri-axial accelerometry and expressed as the 90th percentile of dynamic acceleration (mG).	Baseline (during each intervention condition on Day 1)
Task completion time	Time required to complete the standardized computer task using the conventional mouse and the AI-assisted computer input system.	Baseline (during each intervention condition on Day 1)
Error rate	Percentage of incorrect target selections during the standardized computer task	Baseline (during each intervention condition on Day 1)
Self-reported pain	Participant-reported hand and wrist pain after completing each intervention condition, assessed using a numeric rating scale	Immediately after each intervention condition on Day 1

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Nazarbayev University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): July 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): September 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): October 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 30, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 10, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): July 16, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): July 16, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 10, 2026
• Last Verified: July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Nervous System Diseases; Neuromuscular Diseases; Peripheral Nervous System Diseases; Arm Injuries; Median Neuropathy; Mononeuropathies; Nerve Compression Syndromes; Cumulative Trauma Disorders; Sprains and Strains; Wounds and Injuries; Wrist Injuries; Carpal Tunnel Syndrome; Hand Injuries
• Other Study ID Numbers: 1220/02042026

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No