Nine-Hole Peg Test

 

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Objective

The Nine-Hole Peg Test (9HPT) is used to measure finger dexterity in patients with various neurological diagnoses.

Intended Population

Patients with Stroke, Brain Injury, Parkinson's Disease

Method of Use

Description:

• Administered by asking the client to take the pegs from a container, one by one, and place them into the holes on the board, as quickly as possible
• Participants must then remove the pegs from the holes, one by one, and replace them back into the container
• The board should be placed at the client's midline, with the container holding the pegs oriented towards the hand being tested
• Only the hand being evaluated should perform the test
• Hand not being evaluated is permitted to hold the edge of the board in order to provide stability
• Scores are based on the time taken to complete the test activity, recorded in seconds
• Alternative scoring - the number of pegs placed in 50 or 100 seconds can be recorded. In this case, results are expressed as the number of pegs placed per second
• Stopwatch should be started from the moment the participant touches the first peg until the moment the last peg hits the container

Equipment Required:

• Board (wood or plastic): with 9 holes (10 mm diameter, 15 mm depth), placed apart by 32 mm (Mathiowetz et al, 1985; Sommerfeld et al., 2004) or 50 mm (Heller, Wade, Wood, Sunderland, Hewer, & Ward, 1987)
• A container for the pegs: square box (100 x 100 x 10 mm) apart from the board or a shallow round dish at the end of the board (Grice et al, 2003)
• 9 pegs (7 mm diameter, 32 mm length) (Mathiowetz et al, 1985)
• A stopwatch

References

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