Hybrid Robot+FES Stroke Rehabilitation

NCT ID: NCT04550728

Last Updated: 2025-12-18

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

Get a concise snapshot of the trial, including recruitment status, study phase, enrollment targets, and key timeline milestones.

Recruitment Status

RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

PHASE1/PHASE2

Total Enrollment

60 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2021-08-01

Study Completion Date

2026-12-31

Brief Summary

Review the sponsor-provided synopsis that highlights what the study is about and why it is being conducted.

The investigators have developed a novel robot-guided stretching under intelligent control and combine it with active movement training, which helped increase joint ROM, reduce spasticity and joint stiffness, increase muscle force output, and improve locomotion. However, for stroke survivors with sensorimotor impairment, their peripheral muscle may not sufficiently be recruited. Functional electrical stimulation (FES), has been shown its advantage to activate the peripheral muscles for people with neurological conditions. The investigators thus make a hybrid robot-FES rehabilitation system, combining the advantage of robot and FES technologies for stroke motor recovery. The investigators further would like to translate the technologies from lab to home-based training. Thus, the investigators will conduct a randomized, controlled, primarily home-based clinical trial using an ankle robot alone or combined with functional electrical stimulation (FES) to treat sensorimotor and locomotion impairments post-stroke.

Detailed Description

Dive into the extended narrative that explains the scientific background, objectives, and procedures in greater depth.

Conditions

See the medical conditions and disease areas that this research is targeting or investigating.

Stroke

Keywords

Explore important study keywords that can help with search, categorization, and topic discovery.

stroke functional electrical stimulation robot training

Study Design

Understand how the trial is structured, including allocation methods, masking strategies, primary purpose, and other design elements.

Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

SINGLE

Outcome Assessors

Study Groups

Review each arm or cohort in the study, along with the interventions and objectives associated with them.

FES+robot

Participants in this group will have FES during ankle robot training

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Ankle robot training and functional electrical stimulation(FES) group

Intervention Type COMBINATION_PRODUCT

Patients will use the ankle robot device as the ankle training group. Also, water-based FES electrodes positioned inside a soft garment will be secured over the DF and PF muscles by wrapping the garment around the leg just below the knee joint. Stimulation intensity will be increased to maximal tolerance of each participant. Electrically induced contraction timing will be triggered by the ankle robot in synchrony with the ankle dorsi and plantar flexion movements.

Robot

Participants in this group will have ankle robot training only

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Ankle robot training group

Intervention Type COMBINATION_PRODUCT

Patients will be seated with the paretic foot strapped to the footplate the knee at full extension. The operator will set up and measure (using the robot) ankle passive DF and PF ROM limits. The robot training will include passive stretching, robot interactive game-based training, and cool-down stretching.

Interventions

Learn about the drugs, procedures, or behavioral strategies being tested and how they are applied within this trial.

Ankle robot training group

Patients will be seated with the paretic foot strapped to the footplate the knee at full extension. The operator will set up and measure (using the robot) ankle passive DF and PF ROM limits. The robot training will include passive stretching, robot interactive game-based training, and cool-down stretching.

Intervention Type COMBINATION_PRODUCT

Ankle robot training and functional electrical stimulation(FES) group

Patients will use the ankle robot device as the ankle training group. Also, water-based FES electrodes positioned inside a soft garment will be secured over the DF and PF muscles by wrapping the garment around the leg just below the knee joint. Stimulation intensity will be increased to maximal tolerance of each participant. Electrically induced contraction timing will be triggered by the ankle robot in synchrony with the ankle dorsi and plantar flexion movements.

Intervention Type COMBINATION_PRODUCT

Eligibility Criteria

Check the participation requirements, including inclusion and exclusion rules, age limits, and whether healthy volunteers are accepted.

Inclusion Criteria

* Age 18-85;
* Able to ambulate at least 10 meters without human assistance, with or without an assistive device
* ≥ 6 months post stroke;
* having a caregiver to assist in training at home.

Exclusion Criteria

* having expressive and receptive aphasia;
* an inability to follow multi-step commands;
* enrolled in another lower limb rehabilitation program;
* having severe pain in the paralyzed lower-limb;
* \>30º ankle plantar flexion contracture;
* Having implanted electronic device such as a pacemaker, spinal cord, or deep brain stimulator because FES may potentially interfere with their functions.
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

85 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

Meet the organizations funding or collaborating on the study and learn about their roles.

University of Maryland, Baltimore

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

Identify the individual or organization who holds primary responsibility for the study information submitted to regulators.

Li-Qun Zhang

Professor

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Locations

Explore where the study is taking place and check the recruitment status at each participating site.

University of Maryland School of Medicine

Baltimore, Maryland, United States

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

Review the countries where the study has at least one active or historical site.

United States

Central Contacts

Reach out to these primary contacts for questions about participation or study logistics.

Li-qun Zhang, PhD

Role: CONTACT

Phone: 410 706 2145

Email: [email protected]

Facility Contacts

Find local site contact details for specific facilities participating in the trial.

Li-Qun Zhang, PhD

Role: primary

References

Explore related publications, articles, or registry entries linked to this study.

Zhang LQ, Chung SG, Bai Z, Xu D, van Rey EM, Rogers MW, Johnson ME, Roth EJ. Intelligent stretching of ankle joints with contracture/spasticity. IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng. 2002 Sep;10(3):149-57. doi: 10.1109/TNSRE.2002.802857.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 12503779 (View on PubMed)

Selles RW, Li X, Lin F, Chung SG, Roth EJ, Zhang LQ. Feedback-controlled and programmed stretching of the ankle plantarflexors and dorsiflexors in stroke: effects of a 4-week intervention program. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2005 Dec;86(12):2330-6. doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2005.07.305.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 16344031 (View on PubMed)

Ren Y, Wu YN, Yang CY, Xu T, Harvey RL, Zhang LQ. Developing a Wearable Ankle Rehabilitation Robotic Device for in-Bed Acute Stroke Rehabilitation. IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng. 2017 Jun;25(6):589-596. doi: 10.1109/TNSRE.2016.2584003. Epub 2016 Jun 22.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 27337720 (View on PubMed)

Embrey DG, Holtz SL, Alon G, Brandsma BA, McCoy SW. Functional electrical stimulation to dorsiflexors and plantar flexors during gait to improve walking in adults with chronic hemiplegia. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2010 May;91(5):687-96. doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2009.12.024.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 20434604 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

Review additional registry numbers or institutional identifiers associated with this trial.

HP-00089895

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id