NCT07288385

Investigating the Feasibility of Combining Virtual Reality and Bilateral Transcranial Direct Stimulation to Improve Upper Limb Recovery in Patients With Stroke

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 100 (estimated)
• Sponsor: King Saud University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

Following a stroke, the function of the distal upper limb, especially hand and finger movements, is often severely compromised, significantly restricting the ability to carry out daily activities. It is estimated that 55-75% of stroke survivors suffer from motor dysfunction, with upper limb impairments affecting up to 85% of them (Tang et al., 2024). Current rehabilitation approaches, while beneficial, often produce limited gains in hand function, particularly in patients with chronic stroke. Virtual reality (VR) training has emerged as a promising tool in neurorehabilitation, providing repetitive, task-specific, and engaging practice environments that can promote motor learning (Cameirão et al., 2012). tDCS has also shown potential to enhance motor recovery when combined with motor practice (Kang et al., 2016). To date, no studies have directly compared the effectiveness of Bi-tDCS with VR for improving upper limb function after stroke.

Conditions

• Brain Diseases
• Central Nervous System Diseases
• Nervous System Diseases
• Stroke
• Paresis

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DEVICE	Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation combined with virtual reality	20 minutes of tDCS during 45 minutes of VR games. bi-tDCS will be used during the sessions. The anodal tDCS (2 mA) will be applied for 20 minutes. Continuous, direct currents. The anodal electrode will be positioned over the ipsilesional primary motor cortex (M1) of the affected hemisphere and the cathodal electrode over the contralesional hemisphere.
OTHER	Sham Comparator	45 minutes of VR games with sham tDCS. This provides the participants with the experience of the initial itchy sensation that occurs during tDCS, which is required for efficient masking.

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-12-28
• Primary completion: 2026-12-30
• Completion: 2027-01-30
• First posted: 2025-12-17
• Last updated: 2025-12-30

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Saudi Arabia