Physiotherapy and Action-Observation Therapy: An Integrated Approach for Upper Limb Impairment in Subacute Stroke

NCT ID: NCT04560764

Last Updated: 2024-08-12

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

WITHDRAWN

Clinical Phase

NA

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2023-01-01

Study Completion Date

2023-12-30

Brief Summary

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Motor impairment is one of the most common result of a stroke, which causes disability and difficulties in activities of daily living. This motor impairment can concern the upper limb or the lower limb, or both. Several studies investigates the efficacy of different treatment approaches on upper limb and hand function. None of them combined exercise in a virtual context with Action Observation Therapy, consisting in watching an action before doing it.

This study evaluates the addition of Action Observation Therapy (AOT) to Virtual Reality (VR) in the rehabilitation of upper limb impairment in subacute stroke patients. Half of participants will see a video demonstrating the exercise to be performed before its actual execution, while the other half will see a video of a natural landscape followed by the same exercises the other group performs. All the patients will receive additional usual treatment.

Detailed Description

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In this study, the intervention will be conducted using a system composed by multiple devices, which are:

* HTC Vive (HTC, headset e Steam station): three-dimensional viewer used for the implementation of the immersive virtual environment, allows both the visualization of the videos and of the exercises to be performed;
* Leap Motion Controller (infrared camera): contactless device for tracking the movement of the patient's fingers and hand;
* Zed Mini (RGB binocular camera and depth camera): Stereo Labs' Zed Mini stereoscopic camera is mounted on the HTC Vive viewer to allow virtual elements to be overlapped within the environment;
* Cometa Wavetrack (transmitter/receiver and Inertial Measurement Units): system for upper limb movement tracking through the use of four wireless inertial sensors applied to the chest, to the arm and to the forearm of the participant through elastic bands and to the hand of the participant through skin-compatible double-sided adhesive patches.

All the devices have been tested to ensure safety of the participants and are provided with the appropriate documentation of declaration of conformity according to the European reference regulations. A careful risk analysis was carried out to ensure the safety of the participants.

All the devices will be working simultaneously during each session of treatment. For the experimental group, the instrumentation will be used to see the video of the exercises that the participants will be later asked to perform and to actually perform them; in the control group, it will be used to see a video of a natural landscape with a 180° perspective and to perform the same exercises than the experimental group.

The devices will be used both for the execution of the exercises both to collect information listed in the outcomes section as secondary outcomes: in particular, these information will be provided by the Leap Motion and by the Cometa Wavetrack devices.

Conditions

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Stroke

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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Virtual Reality + Action Observation Therapy

Participants will see a video demonstrating the exercise they will be later asked to perform. The same procedure is performed for each of the four different exercises.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Virtual Reality

Intervention Type DEVICE

Participants in both groups will attend 10 sessions of approximately 30 minutes each three times a week. Each session contemplates the execution of a single repetition of two minutes of each of the four exercises.

There are four exercises:

1. Reaching: the participant is requested to reach a target in front of him with the paretic hand; the target will appear in a different place every time;
2. Reaching and grasping: the participant is requested to grab a wooden cube with the paretic hand and place it into a bowl positioned in front of him; the cube will appear in a different place every time;
3. Goalkeeper: the participant is requested to block a ball coming towards him with the paretic hand; the ball will appear in a different place every time;
4. Occupational task: the participant is requested to grab four cans, one at time, with the paretic hand and place them on four targets placed on a hemispherical arch.

Each exercise provides six levels of increasing difficulty.

Action Observation Therapy

Intervention Type DEVICE

Before the execution of the exercises described in the intervention "Virtual Reality", the participants in the experimental group will see a video demonstrating the same exercise (according to the level of difficulty selected) he will be later asked to perform for two minutes.

Standard treatment

Intervention Type OTHER

Participants in both groups will receive the standard treatment, one hour a day for three days a week.

Virtual Reality + Landscape video

Participants will see a video demonstrating a natural landscape and later they will perform an exercise. The same procedure is performed for each of the four different exercises.

Group Type SHAM_COMPARATOR

Virtual Reality

Intervention Type DEVICE

Participants in both groups will attend 10 sessions of approximately 30 minutes each three times a week. Each session contemplates the execution of a single repetition of two minutes of each of the four exercises.

There are four exercises:

1. Reaching: the participant is requested to reach a target in front of him with the paretic hand; the target will appear in a different place every time;
2. Reaching and grasping: the participant is requested to grab a wooden cube with the paretic hand and place it into a bowl positioned in front of him; the cube will appear in a different place every time;
3. Goalkeeper: the participant is requested to block a ball coming towards him with the paretic hand; the ball will appear in a different place every time;
4. Occupational task: the participant is requested to grab four cans, one at time, with the paretic hand and place them on four targets placed on a hemispherical arch.

Each exercise provides six levels of increasing difficulty.

Landscape video

Intervention Type DEVICE

Before the execution of the exercises described in the intervention "Virtual Reality", the participants in the sham comparator group will see a video of a natural landscape for two minutes.

Standard treatment

Intervention Type OTHER

Participants in both groups will receive the standard treatment, one hour a day for three days a week.

Interventions

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Virtual Reality

Participants in both groups will attend 10 sessions of approximately 30 minutes each three times a week. Each session contemplates the execution of a single repetition of two minutes of each of the four exercises.

There are four exercises:

1. Reaching: the participant is requested to reach a target in front of him with the paretic hand; the target will appear in a different place every time;
2. Reaching and grasping: the participant is requested to grab a wooden cube with the paretic hand and place it into a bowl positioned in front of him; the cube will appear in a different place every time;
3. Goalkeeper: the participant is requested to block a ball coming towards him with the paretic hand; the ball will appear in a different place every time;
4. Occupational task: the participant is requested to grab four cans, one at time, with the paretic hand and place them on four targets placed on a hemispherical arch.

Each exercise provides six levels of increasing difficulty.

Intervention Type DEVICE

Action Observation Therapy

Before the execution of the exercises described in the intervention "Virtual Reality", the participants in the experimental group will see a video demonstrating the same exercise (according to the level of difficulty selected) he will be later asked to perform for two minutes.

Intervention Type DEVICE

Landscape video

Before the execution of the exercises described in the intervention "Virtual Reality", the participants in the sham comparator group will see a video of a natural landscape for two minutes.

Intervention Type DEVICE

Standard treatment

Participants in both groups will receive the standard treatment, one hour a day for three days a week.

Intervention Type OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Participant who suffered from an ictus 3 to 6 months before (subacute phase);
* Baseline scoring of the Upper Extremity portion of the Fugl Meyer between 20 and 60.

Exclusion Criteria

* Other neurological pathologies (including previous strokes);
* Visual field impairments;
* Neuropsychological deficits that prevents the understanding of the instructions or the execution of the treatment (e.g. aphasia, apraxia, neglect);
* Baseline scoring of the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) lower that 24 (MMSE \< 24);
* Orthopaedic or musculoskeletal limitations that do not allow the execution of the treatment;
* Clinical instability;
* Inability to understand the instructions needed to perform the test and the planned evaluations;
* People with electronic medical devices such as pacemakers;
* Medical history of epilepsy.
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi Onlus

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Riccardo Buraschi

Principal investigator

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Riccardo Buraschi, DPT

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

IRCCS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi

Locations

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Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi Onlus - Centro Ettore Spalenza

Rovato, Brescia, Italy

Site Status

Countries

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Italy

References

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Pollock A, Farmer SE, Brady MC, Langhorne P, Mead GE, Mehrholz J, van Wijck F. Interventions for improving upper limb function after stroke. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2014 Nov 12;2014(11):CD010820. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD010820.pub2.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 25387001 (View on PubMed)

Laver KE, Lange B, George S, Deutsch JE, Saposnik G, Crotty M. Virtual reality for stroke rehabilitation. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2017 Nov 20;11(11):CD008349. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD008349.pub4.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 29156493 (View on PubMed)

Borges LR, Fernandes AB, Melo LP, Guerra RO, Campos TF. Action observation for upper limb rehabilitation after stroke. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2018 Oct 31;10(10):CD011887. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD011887.pub2.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 30380586 (View on PubMed)

Shih TY, Wu CY, Lin KC, Cheng CH, Hsieh YW, Chen CL, Lai CJ, Chen CC. Effects of action observation therapy and mirror therapy after stroke on rehabilitation outcomes and neural mechanisms by MEG: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials. 2017 Oct 4;18(1):459. doi: 10.1186/s13063-017-2205-z.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 28978349 (View on PubMed)

Kim C-H, Bang D-H. Action observation training enhances upper extremity function in subacute stroke survivor with moderate impairment: a double-blind, randomized controlled pilot trial. J Korean Soc Phys Med. 2016;11(1):133-140. doi:10.13066/kspm.2016.11.1.133

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Franceschini M, Ceravolo MG, Agosti M, Cavallini P, Bonassi S, Dall'Armi V, Massucci M, Schifini F, Sale P. Clinical relevance of action observation in upper-limb stroke rehabilitation: a possible role in recovery of functional dexterity. A randomized clinical trial. Neurorehabil Neural Repair. 2012 Jun;26(5):456-62. doi: 10.1177/1545968311427406. Epub 2012 Jan 10.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 22235059 (View on PubMed)

Lin KC, Chuang LL, Wu CY, Hsieh YW, Chang WY. Responsiveness and validity of three dexterous function measures in stroke rehabilitation. J Rehabil Res Dev. 2010;47(6):563-71. doi: 10.1682/jrrd.2009.09.0155.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 20848369 (View on PubMed)

Kuk EJ, Kim JM, Oh DW, Hwang HJ. Effects of action observation therapy on hand dexterity and EEG-based cortical activation patterns in patients with post-stroke hemiparesis. Top Stroke Rehabil. 2016 Oct;23(5):318-25. doi: 10.1080/10749357.2016.1157972. Epub 2016 Mar 31.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 27077994 (View on PubMed)

Desrosiers J, Bravo G, Hebert R, Dutil E, Mercier L. Validation of the Box and Block Test as a measure of dexterity of elderly people: reliability, validity, and norms studies. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 1994 Jul;75(7):751-5.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 8024419 (View on PubMed)

Fu J, Zeng M, Shen F, Cui Y, Zhu M, Gu X, Sun Y. Effects of action observation therapy on upper extremity function, daily activities and motion evoked potential in cerebral infarction patients. Medicine (Baltimore). 2017 Oct;96(42):e8080. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000008080.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 29049194 (View on PubMed)

Saposnik G, Cohen LG, Mamdani M, Pooyania S, Ploughman M, Cheung D, Shaw J, Hall J, Nord P, Dukelow S, Nilanont Y, De Los Rios F, Olmos L, Levin M, Teasell R, Cohen A, Thorpe K, Laupacis A, Bayley M; Stroke Outcomes Research Canada. Efficacy and safety of non-immersive virtual reality exercising in stroke rehabilitation (EVREST): a randomised, multicentre, single-blind, controlled trial. Lancet Neurol. 2016 Sep;15(10):1019-27. doi: 10.1016/S1474-4422(16)30121-1. Epub 2016 Jun 27.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 27365261 (View on PubMed)

Dorman PJ, Waddell F, Slattery J, Dennis M, Sandercock P. Is the EuroQol a valid measure of health-related quality of life after stroke? Stroke. 1997 Oct;28(10):1876-82. doi: 10.1161/01.str.28.10.1876.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 9341688 (View on PubMed)

Franceschini M, La Porta F, Agosti M, Massucci M; ICR2 group. Is health-related-quality of life of stroke patients influenced by neurological impairments at one year after stroke? Eur J Phys Rehabil Med. 2010 Sep;46(3):389-99. Epub 2010 Apr 13.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 20927005 (View on PubMed)

Lee KW, Kim SB, Lee JH, Lee SJ, Kim JW. Effect of Robot-Assisted Game Training on Upper Extremity Function in Stroke Patients. Ann Rehabil Med. 2017 Aug;41(4):539-546. doi: 10.5535/arm.2017.41.4.539. Epub 2017 Aug 31.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
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Langhorne P, Coupar F, Pollock A. Motor recovery after stroke: a systematic review. Lancet Neurol. 2009 Aug;8(8):741-54. doi: 10.1016/S1474-4422(09)70150-4.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 19608100 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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FDG_AOTVR

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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