MedPath

The Impact of Robot Assisted Therapy and Metacognitive Skills Training for Children With Hemiparesis

Not Applicable
Active, not recruiting
Conditions
Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy
Hemiparesis
Hemiparesis;Poststroke/CVA
Interventions
Device: Amadeo by Tyromotion
Behavioral: Active Learning Protocol for Stroke
Registration Number
NCT04309266
Lead Sponsor
Boston Children's Hospital
Brief Summary

The Occupational Therapy Department at Boston Children's Hospital is teaming up with MGH Institute of Health Professions to explore the benefits of using robot assisted therapy (Amadeo) and a problem solving approach (Active Learning Program for Stroke) to achieving functional goals for children ages 7-17 years old that have hemiparesis. The hope is to help participants make gains in both hand/arm skills and progress in everyday activities such as self-care, play, school and work. Participation will look like regular therapy with sessions 3 times weekly for 8 weeks. Each visit will include time for games on the Amadeo and time spent problem solving current activity challenges for each child. Families are encouraged to participate.

Detailed Description

Robot assisted therapy and Active Learning Program for Stroke (ALPS) are unique interventions that are feasible and effective for individuals with neuromotor impairments. To the best of our knowledge, this is a novel intervention approach and thus there are no preliminary studies to acknowledge that reference this combined technique. There have been studies which evaluated the Amadeo and metacognitive approaches in isolation, but not combined.

The goal of this pilot study is to better understand the impact of a combined approach using both robot assisted therapy and metacognitive skills training through ALPS on the functional performance outcomes of children with hemiparesis. Our primary aim is to evaluate the feasibility of this pilot study intervention as measured by adequate recruitment of necessary population, participant attendance to scheduled sessions, participant adherence to home program and clinician competence/adherence with protocol administration. Our secondary aim is to understand the preliminary impact of a combined approach to intervention involving robot-assisted therapy and a metacognitive strategy training ALPS on upper limb motor skills and function of children with hemiparesis. It is hypothesized that utilizing this combined bottom-up and top-down approach will be a feasible option for intervention and that preliminary outcomes will be promising. If successful, this project has the potential to improve rehabilitation and habilitation outcomes of children with hemiparesis.

This study will be set as a prospective pilot study with pre- and post-intervention and one month follow-up evaluation. Study procedures will occur within Boston Children's Hospital's Department of Physical and Occupational Therapy Service. For the duration of this trial, participants will not be allowed to participate in additional occupational therapy intervention.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
2
Inclusion Criteria
  • Child must be between 7 and 17 years of age at the start of the study.
  • Child must have hemiparesis with at least partial active grasp and release.
  • Child must be able to follow multi-step commands.
  • Child must have a caregiver available who can assist with implementation of home exercise program.
  • Child must speak English.
  • Child must have hemiparesis caused by cerebral vascular accident.
  • Child must have adequate insurance to cover evaluation, re-evaluations, and intervention, as this study will be billed to participants' insurance.
Exclusion Criteria
  • Child must not have received botulinum toxin or phenol injections within 4 months of and/or during intervention.
  • Child must have tone less than 3/4 on Modified Ashworth Scale.
  • Child must not be considered legally blind.
  • Child must not have contraindications for use of robot assisted device (ie. recent fracture or skin lesion).
  • Child must not be non-verbal.
  • Child must have not had reconstructive surgery to the affected upper extremity within the last year.
  • Child must not be receiving active oncology plan of care.

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
SINGLE_GROUP
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Robot Assisted Therapy with Metacognitive Skills TrainingAmadeo by TyromotionAll participants will be enrolled in the single arm of this study, where they will receive robot assisted therapy combined with metacognitive skills training.
Robot Assisted Therapy with Metacognitive Skills TrainingActive Learning Protocol for StrokeAll participants will be enrolled in the single arm of this study, where they will receive robot assisted therapy combined with metacognitive skills training.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Staff's Actual Competency of ALPSDetermined at the conclusion of the study, approximately 2 years

Measured by fidelity checklist.

Staff's Actual Competency of HemiparesisEvery 3 months until conclusion of the study, up to 2 years

Measured by routine audits.

Staff's Perceived Competency of ALPSDetermined at the conclusion of the study, approximately 2 years

Measured by post-training survey.

Patient RecruitmentDetermined at the conclusion of the study, approximately 2 years

Quantitative tracking of patient recruitment - was the goal n of 15 children with hemiparesis who completed the study attained?

Implementation of InterventionDetermined at the conclusion of the study, approximately 2 years

Did patients adhere to daily home programming? - At least 80% compliance will be deemed successful.

Staff's Actual Competency of AmadeoDetermined at the conclusion of the study, approximately 2 years

Measured by fidelity checklist.

Staff's Perceived Competency of HemiparesisDetermined at the conclusion of the study, approximately 2 years

Measured by a post-training survey.

Staff's Perceived Competency of AmadeoDetermined at the conclusion of the study, approximately 2 years

Measured by post-training survey.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Box & BlocksAdministered at week 1, week 10 of protocol (after completing 8 weeks of the intervention), and week 14 (1 month after week 10).

* Administered to all participants

* Provides data regarding a child's gross manual dexterity

* Measures number of blocks transferred from one compartment to the next in 60 seconds.

* Administration time = \~10 minutes

9 Hole Peg TestAdministered at week 1, week 10 of protocol (after completing 8 weeks of the intervention), and week 14 (1 month after week 10).

* Administered to participants who are successful to pick up small manipulatives as part of Jebsen

* Provides data regarding fine manual dexterity

* Scores are timed measurements. Participants will be allowed maximum 4 minutes for trial with hemiparetic upper extremity.

* Administration time = \~10 minutes

Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM)Administered at week 1, week 10 of protocol (after completing 8 weeks of the intervention), and week 14 (1 month after week 10).

* Administered to all participants. The parent/caregiver and child will collaboratively develop goal priority areas. Both the parent/caregiver and child will then separately score performance and satisfaction in each identified area so that both parent and child perception are obtained.

* Provides data for participant's self-perceived performance capacity and satisfaction with performance on self-determined functional goal areas.

* Performance and Satisfaction are ranked on a scale of 1-10, with higher scores signifying higher self-perceived performance/satisfaction in personally identified meaningful activities.

* Parent/Child interview with performance/satisfaction score rankings completed

* Administration time = \~15 minutes

Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory Computer Adaptive Test (PEDI-CAT): Activities of Daily Living and Social/Cognitive DomainsAdministered at week 1, week 10 of protocol (after completing 8 weeks of the intervention), and week 14 (1 month after week 10).

* Administered to all participants. To be completed by child's parent/caregiver.

* Provides data for a participant's level of independence with Activities of Daily Living (ADLs)

* Parent/Child questionnaire

* Items in Activities of Daily Living and Social/Cognitive domains scored on scale of 1-4, with higher scores signifying increased ease in tasks.

* Administration time = \~15 minutes, can be completed prior to clinic evaluation.

Jebsen Hand Function TestAdministered at week 1, week 10 of protocol (after completing 8 weeks of the intervention), and week 14 (1 month after week 10).

* Administered to all participants

* Provides data regarding the uni-manual skills required for ADLs.

* Scores are timed measurements

* Administration time = \~15-30 minutes

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Boston Children's Hospital

🇺🇸

Boston, Massachusetts, United States

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