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Rehab CARES In USA: Clinical Trial

Not Applicable
Recruiting
Conditions
Hemiplegia
Stroke
Interventions
Other: Standard of Care
Device: Robot-Assisted Therapy with Rehab CARES system
Registration Number
NCT05542121
Lead Sponsor
University of Pennsylvania
Brief Summary

In Phase 2, Patients in a community-based setting who have had a stroke will be evaluated by rehabilitation professionals and asked to perform a battery of clinical assessments before and after standard of care and robot assisted therapy with Rehab CARES system of simple force-feedback robots that are adapted to deliver single and group therapy.

Detailed Description

In Phase 2, we will develop the hardware to allow three haptic robots to dock (a gym) and be configured to allow patients to play therapy games alone or collaboratively. We will test the safety and feasibility of the gym in a community-based rehabilitation setting. We will treat 36 patients randomized to either a control group getting standard of care therapy and a robot group receiving standard of care with upper limb therapy being given using the robot gym instead of an occupational therapist. Therapy will occur over 4 weeks with two follow-up assessments. Key milestones will be to show that the robot group has the same or better functional outcomes, motivation, and adverse events as the control group. Also to show that the robot gym is a cost-effective solution to increasing access to quality rehabilitation care in low-resource, community-based settings. Success here will validate this potential solution, justify design changes revealed via user-feedback and a larger clinical trial.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
RECRUITING
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
36
Inclusion Criteria
  • Age 55 and older (based on who is admitted to the CBR site)
  • >3 months post-stroke
  • Stroke diagnosis
  • Diagnosis of hemiparesis as a result of stroke (verified by radiology data)
  • Motor control score on Upper Extremity Fugl-Meyer scale > 15 and < 60;
  • Able to understand and speak
  • Upper arm manual muscle strength scores >1
  • Pain Scores < 8 based on NIH Pain Intensity Scale
Exclusion Criteria
  • no cerebellum lesions due to stroke
  • severe cognitive function

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Standard of CareStandard of Care60 min OT sessions; 3 sessions per week; for 4 weeks;-- augmented Standard therapy - consisting of PT, OT and SLP. Clinical Assessment (B1-pre, B2-post, B3-follow-up#1, B4-follow-up#2).
Robot-Assisted Therapy with Rehab CARES systemRobot-Assisted Therapy with Rehab CARES system60 min sessions; 3 sessions per week; for 4 weeks;----of Upper Limb therapy using 1 or more affordable robots. Robot sessions can be group play and/or single play. Robot Assessment (B1-pre, B2-post, B3-follow-up#1, B4-follow-up#2)
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Change in Hand DexterityAfter 12 sessions (post-pre), after follow-up at 4 weeks (post-follow-up)

Measured by changes in NIH Toolbox 9-Hole Pegboard Dexterity Test; metric time and # of peg transferred over time. A higher number of pegs means less impaired.

Upper Extremity Functionat pre, at post-intervention (after 12 sessions), at follow-up

Measured by changes in the Neuro-QoL: Upper Extremity Function - Fine Motor, ADL Short Form. Short form is a self-report on 8 items to assesses fine motor function and activity of daily living in upper arm.

Quality of life (Participation)at pre, at post-intervention (after 12 sessions), at follow-up

Measured by changes in the Neuro-QoL: Ability to Participate in Social Role and Activities Short Form.

Quality of life (Satisfaction)at pre, at post-intervention (after 12 sessions), at follow-up

Measured by changes in Neuro-QoL Satisfaction with Social Roles and Activities Short Form.

Motivationat pre, at post-intervention (after 12 sessions), at follow-up

Measured by the Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM) scale which consist of 3 subscales: enjoyment, engagement, and control. Each subscale is from 0 to 9. For enjoyment and engagement the higher score is the better and for control the lower score is better.

Change in Motor ControlAfter 12 sessions (post-pre), after follow-up at 4 weeks (post-follow-up)

Measured by Change in Upper Extremity Fugl-Meyer Assessment (UE-FM); scale is out of 66. A lower score means more impaired.

Change in Gross Hand FunctionAfter 12 sessions (post-pre), after follow-up at 4 weeks (post-follow-up)

Measured by Changes in Box and Block (BnB) Test; metric # of blocks transferred. A higher score means less impaired.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Change in CognitionAfter 12 sessions (post-pre), after follow-up at 4 weeks (post-follow-up)

Measured by changes in Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MocA)

Passive Joint Range of Motion (ROM)at pre, at post-intervention (after 12 sessions), at follow-up

Range of Motion joint testing of the upper limb. Subjects shoulder, elbow, and wrist joint passive joint movements are evaluated in the impaired arm. Reported in degrees.

Grip Strengthat pre, at post-intervention (after 12 sessions), at follow-up

Measured by NIH toolbox Grip Strength Test. The amount of pound-force is measured. The higher pound-force is better.

Executive Functionat pre, at post-intervention (after 12 sessions), at follow-up

Measured by performance on Color Trails 2. A timed trail making assessment. A lower time is better. Timed results are normalized by age and education and reported as a normalized z-score.

Exertion Levelat each of 12 therapy sessions

Measured by score on Borg Exertion Scale. Score is from 0 to 10. 0 is low and 10 is max. Subjects are asked to report pain experienced during a 60 minute session. Exertion between 0 and 6 is expected.

Usabilityat pre, at post-intervention (after 12 sessions), at follow-up

Measured by score on System Usability Scale. Score is from 0 to 100. 0 is low and 100 is max. A score greater than or equal to 68 is ideal.

Work Loadat pre, at post-intervention (after 12 sessions), at follow-up

Measured by NASA TLX Task Demand Scale. The scale consist of 6 questions scored on a likert scale of 0 to 21. The responses are processed to define a workload score. A workload score at or above 37 which is MOD-HIGH is expected.

Pain Levelat each of 12 therapy sessions

Measured by score on Visual Analog Pain Scale. Patients indicate a pain score is from 0 to 10. 0 is low and 10 is max. Subjects are asked to report pain experienced during a 60 minute session. Pain \< 4 is expected.

Prediction of Motor Functionat pre, at post-intervention (after 12 sessions), at follow-up

Measured by R-squared value from regression models of robot metrics from custom assessment tasks with respect to motor measurements of grip strength, gross hand function and fine motor function

Prediction of Cognitive Functionat pre, at post-intervention (after 12 sessions), at follow-up

Measured by R-squared value from regression models of robot metrics from custom assessment tasks with respect to cognitive measurements of overall cognition, attention and executive function.

Visual Spatial Attentionat pre, at post-intervention (after 12 sessions), at follow-up

Measured by changes in Color Trails 1.A timed trail making assessment. A faster time result is better. Timed results are normalized by age and education and reported as a normalized z-score.

Active Joint Range of Motion (ROM)at pre, at post-intervention (after 12 sessions), at follow-up

Range of Motion joint testing of the upper limb. Subjects shoulder, elbow, and wrist joint active joint movements are evaluated in the impaired arm. Reported in degrees.

Trial Locations

Locations (2)

Mercy Living Independently for Elders (L.I.F.E) - West Philadelphia

🇺🇸

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Penn Medicine Rittenhouse

🇺🇸

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

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