Pilot Trial of Robotic Hand Therapy After Stroke

Condition(s) studied

Investigational drug(s) / intervention(s)

robotic-assisted hand therapy: Participants will receive the GRIP program in addition to usual rehabilitation care. The program uses a soft robotic glove worn on the affected hand together with a non-immersive virtual-reality system that displays hand exercises and a virtual hand that moves with the participant's real movements. The glove can provide assistance or resistance to support grasping practice and strengthening. Training focuses on repeated grasping tasks and strategies to increase use of the affected hand in daily activities. The program includes ten supervised 30-minute sessions over two weeks.

Action-observation therapy & Education: Participants will receive usual rehabilitation care plus action-observation therapy (AOT). They will complete ten self-directed 30-minute AOT sessions over two weeks. Each session consists of repeated cycles of watching short videos of hand movements and then attempting to reproduce those movements with the affected hand. Videos will match the grasp types practiced in the intervention arm. Participants will also attend three individual education sessions on post-stroke arm and hand recovery, including strategies to increase use of the affected hand in daily activities.

Study summary

This pilot study will test whether the GRIP program-a soft robotic glove with virtual-reality training-can improve hand and arm function in adults undergoing inpatient rehabilitation after a recent stroke. About 20 participants will be randomly assigned to either the GRIP program or action-observation therapy with education, in addition to usual care. The study will assess motor improvement, safety, and acceptability over approximately six weeks.

Eligibility

Primary outcome measure(s)

• Fugl-Meyer Assessment Upper Extremity (FMA-UE) — At enrollment , post-intervention (at 2 weeks), and 1 month follow-up (at 6 weeks)
  It is a stroke-specific, performance-based impairment index designed to measure upper extremity motor recovery after stroke.

Trial sites (1)

More Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation of Greater Montreal trials in Canada

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