Southampton Hand Assessment Procedure (SHAP)

The Southampton Hand Assessment Procedure (SHAP) hand function test comprised of 6 abstract objects and 14 everyday activity task, 2019, developed at the University of Southampton, 2000

Developed in 2000, SHAP is a clinically trialled test to assess the effectiveness of the different grips of upper limb prostheses. Each task is self timed by the participant, so the beginning and end of a task can be accurately recorded and a score out of a 100 is calculated and converted to a percentage. The higher the score, the more of the optimum hand function is being used. The abstract tests are to place shapes into a form board. The activities of daily living were each demonstrated to the participant before being assessed. These include picking up coins, undoing buttons, simulating cutting food, page turning, opening a jar, pouring from a glass jug, pouring from a carton, lifting a heavy object, lifting a light object, lifting a tray, rotating a key, opening and closing a zip, rotating a screw and using a door handle. The test is now also used for to test hand function for those with musculoskeletal and neurological conditions.

This hand function test developed by Colin Light, Paul Chappell and Peter Kyberd at the University of Southampton. They were all part of the Southampton Hand project. Begun by Professor Jim Nightingale, Professor of Control Engineering at the University of Southampton in the 1960s, the Southampton Hand project ran for over 50 years. Many engineers interested in developing new types of prosthetic arms worked on the project, each adding their own advances to the project. Inspired by how our brains and hands communicate they aimed to make a prosthetic arm that was easy for users to control. The user initiates movement by thinking, which activates the muscles in their arm. This is detected and it opens and closes the hand. Sensors on the hand detect what shape object is within the hand and the microcontroller selects the grasp that is needed.