NCT01689883

Improving Recovery After Stroke Via Electrical Stimulation of Proprioceptors

• Status: Terminated
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 1 (actual)
• Sponsor: Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The overall objective of the study is to test whether the use of small electrical currents to stimulate proprioceptors of the upper limb has potential for improving robot-assisted upper-limb rehabilitation in stroke survivors.

Detailed description

Study participants will be instructed to perform upper-limb movements using a system designed for upper-limb rehabilitation (Armeo Spring by Hocoma AG). The system provides subjects with unloading of the stroke-affected arm thus facilitating the performance of upper-limb movements. The system will be used to track the movements of the stroke-affected arm. Simultaneously, a custom-designed system (a prototype developed by the investigators) will be used to deliver small electrical currents to the arm. We hypothesize that the currents delivered to the arm will improve the accuracy of the movements performed by study participants. To assess if delivering small currents to the arm has an effect on the accuracy of the movements performed by the study participants, they will receive actual stimulation for some trials and sham stimulation for other trials. Because the investigators will deliver very small currents, study participants will be unable to perceive such currents and hence tell if they are performing the movements while receiving actual or sham stimulation. By comparing trials performed while subjects receive actual stimulation with trials performed while subjects received sham stimulation, the investigators will determine if the stimulation has an effect on the accuracy of the movements performed by the subjects. It is worth noticing that the investigators collected primary outcome data to assess changes associated with the use of actual stimulation vs sham stimulation. Data during a follow-up session was also collected, but not for the purpose of collecting outcome measures.

Conditions

• Chronic Stroke Survivors

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DEVICE	Current stimulator	This is a device developed by the investigators to produce sub-sensory electrical stimulation delivered via subcutaneous electrodes placed on the skin.

Timeline

• Start date: 2011-08-01
• Primary completion: 2013-07-01
• Completion: 2013-07-01
• First posted: 2012-09-21
• Last updated: 2017-04-24

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States