This site was substantially updated June 24, 2009.  X-RTS, an acronym for "cross-reference testing system" is a cost-effective family of tools for use in physical therapy, industrial rehabilitation and athletic training facilities.  We specialize in developing products which objectively classify validity of effort--and we fill a void that has created the litigious "expert witness" culture surrounding functional capacity evaluations.  Our system enables the test administrator to assess test behavior in a legally defensible manner. 

The X-RTS Hand Strength Assessment, supported by our original research, published in the Journal of Hand Therapy, is applicable to a patient population, as demonstrated in an article that was recently accepted for publication on a conditional basis.  Details regarding this study will be released as the publication date nears.  The X-RTS Hand Strength Assessment, shown to be 99.5% accurate in the classification of effort, stands in contrast to other methods which have a known error rate of 30%.  In the past 20 years, at least 25 studies and reviews have concluded that the standard methods of assessing accuracy during a hand strength test are not accurate.  For a list of those studies, click on the text in this sentence.  Why accept less-than-accurate methods for your practice or the claimants you send for functional assessment?  This method uses the common mechanical gauges, but incorporates an element of significant distraction---allowing us to protect the cooperative claimant while identifying non-compliance with an unprecedented level of accuracy.

Our companion test for validity of effort is the X-RTS Lever Arm.  This device eliminates the guesswork of the "visual estimation of effort" that is so commonly used in FCE protocols.  In contrast to other testing methods, the Lever Arm involves repeated measures.  Like the Hand Strength Assessment, the Lever Arm utilizes the concept of distraction-based testing.  The visual appearance of the workloads on this device are not accurately estimated by looking at the workloads.  The Hand Strength Assessment and Lever Arm test results are in agreement with one another nearly 90% of the time.  Details related to this study will be released in the Summer of 2009.

For the past three years, we have been involved in an expansive research initiative.  The fruits of our labor are now beginning to appear.  We have had two additional articles related to isometric testing accepted conditionally for publication.  One of these studies has a population of 130,000 subjects---and demonstrates conclusively that isometric assessment is not capable of accurately predicting dynamic lifting capacity.  The other shows conclusively that the Static Leg Lift and Static Arm Lift do not accurately classify validity of effort.  Data collection for our Visual Estimation of Effort Study is finished.  We are now in the process of constructing the article we will submit for publication.  Our findings will be a revelation to many people---and will have implications for testing protocols which rely on this method of classifying exertion and cooperation.  We anticipate submitting this study for peer review some time in July 2009.  We will release details pertaining to this study at the appropriate time.  Within the next few months, we will begin submitting additional articles to the peer-reviewed journals read by the legal and business communities.  Site visitors will be kept informed regarding the details of publication.

A separate page on this site is devoted to each of the X-RTS products.  Before the Fall of 2009, we will create a special page that will provide more details related to the research we have conducted.  For further information, use the Contact Us feature found on each page.  Thank you for visiting our site.

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