Robotic Assessment of Upper Limb Passive and Active Sensory Processing in Healthy Adults

NCT ID: NCT04723212

Last Updated: 2023-03-29

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Total Enrollment: 80 participants
• Study Classification: OBSERVATIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2020-06-10
• Study Completion Date: 2021-01-20

Brief Summary

After a stroke, more than two out of three patients experience problems with upper limb movement and sensation. During the past decade, robotic technology has been increasingly used to asses these problems in a detailed and accurate manner. However, sensory processing, one of the most important sensory functions, has not been assessed using robotic technology yet. Therefore, our group has developed a robotic assessment of sensory processing. This study is set up to obtain detailed information on how healthy controls perform on this task. This information can then help in identifying abnormal performances (i.e. upper limb sensory problems) in stroke patients. We aim to examine 40 healthy younger adults and 40 healthy older adults.

Detailed Description

Up to 70% of stroke survivors show upper limb impairments consisting of motor and/or somatosensory impairments. These impairments often persist well into the chronic stage, and may lead to significant limitations in activities of daily living and may negatively affect quality of life. It is therefore of utmost importance to accurately assess upper limb impairments. Clinical assessments exist for both motor and somatosensory function, but lack good psychometric properties. Robotic technology show promising potential and is readily available to assess motor function and proprioception. Robotic assessment for sensory processing is currently not yet available, despite being the most relevant somatosensory function. Indeed, sensory processing shows the strongest association with upper limb movement, and only shows incomplete recovery at 6 months after stroke.

Our group has recently developed a novel robotic assessment of sensory processing, using the Kinarm End-Point Lab (BKIN Technologies Ltd., Canada). This cross-sectional study is set up to collect a large amount of data from healthy controls, in order to obtain reference values for future research and to serve as control data for comparison with stroke patients. 40 younger healthy adults and 40 older healthy adults will be recruited and will undergo extensive clinical and robotic assessment of upper limb motor and somatosensory function, as well as cognitive function. This study also allows to investigate possible age-related decline in task performance, as well as investigation of the role of cognition in performance on this novel task.

Conditions

Healthy

Study Design

• Observational Model Type: COHORT
• Study Time Perspective: CROSS_SECTIONAL

Study Groups

Younger healthy adults

Healthy subjects in the age group of 18-30 years old, and without history of any neurological condition

No interventions assigned to this group

Older healthy adults

Healthy subjects aged 55 years and older, and without history of any neurological condition

No interventions assigned to this group

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Aged 18-30 years old; or aged 55+

Exclusion Criteria

• History of stroke or TIA
• Upper limb somatosensory and/or motor impairments
• Any serious musculoskeletal and/or other neurological conditions
• Serious communication or cognitive deficits
• No written informed consent

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Universitaire Ziekenhuizen KU Leuven

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

KU Leuven

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Prof Geert Verheyden

Prof. Dr.

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Geert Verheyden

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

KU Leuven

Locations

KU Leuven

Leuven, , Belgium

Countries

Belgium

Other Identifiers

S61997

Identifier Type: OTHER

Identifier Source: secondary_id

C22/18/008

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id