Use of Sensory Substitution to Improve Arm Control After Stroke

NCT ID: NCT03298243

Last Updated: 2025-09-29

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

30 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2023-07-17

Study Completion Date

2026-05-31

Brief Summary

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Supplementing or augmenting sensory information to those who have lost proprioception after stroke could help improve functional control of the arm. Thirty subjects will be recruited to a single site to evaluate the ability of supplemental kinesthetic feedback (a form of vibrotactile stimulation) to improve motor function. Participants will be tested in performing reaching movements as well as more functional tasks such as simulated drinking from a glass

Detailed Description

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This study has two distinct aims to be addressed in a longitudinal study spanning 24 days.

Aim 1 tests the hypothesis that stroke survivors can improve motor control of their contralesional arm through extended training with supplemental kinesthetic feedback applied to the non-moving arm and hand.

Aim 2 tests the hypothesis that extended training with supplemental kinesthetic feedback can lead to new skills that generalize to untrained reach-to-grasp actions like reaching for a water glass or a book on a shelf.

Day 1: Participants complete baseline tests of cognitive performance over several domains, including psychomotor speed (e.g., Symbol Digit Modalities Test; Digit Copy Test), memory (Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test; Rey Osterrieth Complex Figure Test), cognitive flexibility/attention shifting (Trail-Making Test B; Wisconsin Card Sort Test), spatial processing (Rey Osterrieth Complex Figure copy test), and action selection/inhibition. (the go, no-go, and stop signal tests).

Day 2: Participants complete baseline tests of sensorimotor impairment and function. Tests of sensorimotor impairment include the upper extremity Fugl-Meyer Assessment for the contralesional arm, two-point discrimination, vibration sensation using a 128 Hz tuning fork, and a robotic test of proprioception in both arms. Motor function in the contralesional arm will be assessed using the Jamar grip strength assessment and the Wolf Motor Function Test.

Day 3: We will test the subjects on their naïve capability to use a 3-Degree-Of-Freedom (3-DOF) vibrotactile display to guide supported (but unconstrained) 3D movements mimicking reach-to-grasp actions like reaching for a water glass or a book on a shelf. The vibrotactile display will provide supplemental kinesthetic feedback of limb movement.

Days 4-23: These 20 sessions train participants on the use of of supplemental kinesthetic feedback of limb movement. We will test two groups of 15 stroke survivors each. Subjects will use supplemental vibrotactile feedback to guide goal-directed reach-to-grasp movements to targets presented visually in 3D space. Individuals assigned to the PROGRESSIVE TRAINING group will practice for several days on interpreting feedback along just one dimension of movement before training to interpret 2 dimensions of feedback. they will conclude training by training to interpret 3D vibrotactile feedback. Individuals assigned to the 3D TRAINING group will only train on the full 3D feedback system.

Day 24: We will re-test the subjects on their capability to use a 3-DOF vibrotactile display to guide supported (but unconstrained) 3D movements mimicking reach-to-grasp actions like reaching for a water glass or a book on a shelf.

Conditions

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Stroke Proprioceptive Disorders

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Aims 1 and 2: Parallel-group longitudinal study. Participants will practice reaching to locations in front of them using vibrotactile feedback to guide the precision of the movements. For one group, the tasks will be organized to slowly become more difficult as practice continues. For the other group, the training will only involve the more difficult task. Subjects will be asked to perform simulated tasks of daily living at the beginning or end of practice to test transfer of the vibrotactile training/learning.
Primary Study Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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Stroke Cohort - Progressive Training

Aim 1 intervention: Vibrotactile stimulation. Progressive training from simple to more complex reaching task using vibrotactile feedback to guide performance

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Vibrotactile stimulation

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Non-invasive, computer-controlled miniature tendon vibrators, similar to those used in off-the-shelf activity monitors.

Stroke Cohort - Whole Task Training

Aim2 intervention: Vibrotactile stimulation. Training on only the more complex reaching task using vibrotactile feedback to guide performance

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Vibrotactile stimulation

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Non-invasive, computer-controlled miniature tendon vibrators, similar to those used in off-the-shelf activity monitors.

Interventions

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Vibrotactile stimulation

Non-invasive, computer-controlled miniature tendon vibrators, similar to those used in off-the-shelf activity monitors.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* stroke survivors who can perform our stabilization and grip modulation tasks and who
* had a single ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) in the chronic state of recovery (\> 6 months post-stroke).
* ability to give informed consent and be able to follow two-stage instructions.
* mild-to-moderate motor impairment as assessed using the upper extremity (UE) portion of the Fugl-Meyer Motor Assessment (FM); i.e., UE-FM score between 28 and 50 (inclusive) out of a possible 66.
* proprioceptive deficit at the elbow in the more involved (contralesional) arm.
* preserved tactile sensation in either the ipsilesional arm and/or thigh.
* a minimal active wrist extension of 5°.

Exclusion Criteria

* Inability of subjects to give informed consent or follow two-stage instructions.
* subjects with a bleeding disorder.
* subjects with fixed contractures or a history of tendon transfer in the involved limb.
* subjects with a diagnosis of myasthenia gravis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or any disease that might interfere with neuromuscular function.
* subjects who are currently using or under the influence of aminoglycoside antibiotics, curare-like agents, or other agents that may interfere with neuromuscular function.
* subjects with a history of epilepsy.
* history of other psychiatric co-morbidities (e.g. schizophrenia).
* malignant or benign intra-axial neoplasms.
* concurrent illness limiting the capacity to conform to study requirements.
* Cardiac pacemaker, cardiac arrhythmia or history of significant cardiovascular or respiratory compromise.
* subjects with profound atrophy or excessive weakness of muscles in the target area(s) of testing.
* subjects with a systemic infection.
Minimum Eligible Age

21 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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Medical College of Wisconsin

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

NIH

Sponsor Role collaborator

Marquette University

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

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Robert A Scheidt, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Marquette University

Locations

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Marquette University

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

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United States

Central Contacts

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Robert A Scheidt, PhD

Role: CONTACT

(414)288-6124

Kimberly D Bassindale, DPT

Role: CONTACT

(414)288-6184

Facility Contacts

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Robert A Scheidt, PhD

Role: primary

4142886124

Kimberly D Bassindale, DPT

Role: backup

4142886184

References

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Krueger AR, Giannoni P, Shah V, Casadio M, Scheidt RA. Supplemental vibrotactile feedback control of stabilization and reaching actions of the arm using limb state and position error encodings. J Neuroeng Rehabil. 2017 May 2;14(1):36. doi: 10.1186/s12984-017-0248-8.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 28464891 (View on PubMed)

Risi N, Shah V, Mrotek LA, Casadio M, Scheidt RA. Supplemental vibrotactile feedback of real-time limb position enhances precision of goal-directed reaching. J Neurophysiol. 2019 Jul 1;122(1):22-38. doi: 10.1152/jn.00337.2018. Epub 2019 Apr 17.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 30995149 (View on PubMed)

Shah VA, Casadio M, Scheidt RA, Mrotek LA. Spatial and temporal influences on discrimination of vibrotactile stimuli on the arm. Exp Brain Res. 2019 Aug;237(8):2075-2086. doi: 10.1007/s00221-019-05564-5. Epub 2019 Jun 7.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 31175382 (View on PubMed)

Shah VA, Casadio M, Scheidt RA, Mrotek LA. Vibration Propagation on the Skin of the Arm. Appl Sci (Basel). 2019 Oct 2;9(20):4329. doi: 10.3390/app9204329. Epub 2019 Oct 15.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 34621542 (View on PubMed)

Jayasinghe SAL, Sarlegna FR, Scheidt RA, Sainburg RL. The neural foundations of handedness: insights from a rare case of deafferentation. J Neurophysiol. 2020 Jul 1;124(1):259-267. doi: 10.1152/jn.00150.2020. Epub 2020 Jun 24.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 32579409 (View on PubMed)

Ballardini G, Krueger A, Giannoni P, Marinelli L, Casadio M, Scheidt RA. Effect of Short-Term Exposure to Supplemental Vibrotactile Kinesthetic Feedback on Goal-Directed Movements after Stroke: A Proof of Concept Case Series. Sensors (Basel). 2021 Feb 22;21(4):1519. doi: 10.3390/s21041519.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 33671643 (View on PubMed)

Jayasinghe SAL, Scheidt RA, Sainburg RL. Neural Control of Stopping and Stabilizing the Arm. Front Integr Neurosci. 2022 Feb 21;16:835852. doi: 10.3389/fnint.2022.835852. eCollection 2022.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 35264934 (View on PubMed)

Suminski AJ, Doudlah RC, Scheidt RA. Neural Correlates of Multisensory Integration for Feedback Stabilization of the Wrist. Front Integr Neurosci. 2022 May 6;16:815750. doi: 10.3389/fnint.2022.815750. eCollection 2022.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 35600223 (View on PubMed)

Pomplun E, Thomas A, Corrigan E, Shah VA, Mrotek LA, Scheidt RA. Vibrotactile Perception for Sensorimotor Augmentation: Perceptual Discrimination of Vibrotactile Stimuli Induced by Low-Cost Eccentric Rotating Mass Motors at Different Body Locations in Young, Middle-Aged, and Older Adults. Front Rehabil Sci. 2022 Jul 1;3:895036. doi: 10.3389/fresc.2022.895036. eCollection 2022.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 36188929 (View on PubMed)

Shah VA, Thomas A, Mrotek LA, Casadio M, Scheidt RA. Extended training improves the accuracy and efficiency of goal-directed reaching guided by supplemental kinesthetic vibrotactile feedback. Exp Brain Res. 2023 Feb;241(2):479-493. doi: 10.1007/s00221-022-06533-1. Epub 2022 Dec 28.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 36576510 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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1R15HD093086

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

HR-3303

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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