Facilitating Neuroplastic Changes of Acute Stroke Survivors

NCT ID: NCT06404268

Last Updated: 2025-07-09

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

PHASE1/PHASE2

Total Enrollment

68 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2025-06-01

Study Completion Date

2028-08-31

Brief Summary

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This project will develop a wearable rehabilitation robot suitable for in-bed acute stage rehabilitation. It involves robot-guided motor relearning, passive and active motor-sensory rehabilitation early in the acute stage post-stroke including patients who are paralyzed with no motor output. The early acute stroke rehabilitation device will be evaluated in this clinical trial.

Detailed Description

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Stroke survivors often experience loss of motor control and impaired function. Immediately after stroke, there is a time-limited window of heightened plasticity during which the greatest gains in recovery occur. Therefore, early intensive sensorimotor rehabilitation post-stroke is critical in improving functional outcomes and minimizing disability. However, acute stroke survivors often receive little active training to improve mobility during their hospital stay and they are left alone during most of the day. Especially for those acute patients with no voluntary motor output, active motor training might be even less, partly due to a lack of rehabilitation protocols to detect potential motor recovering signals sensitively and facilitate neuroplastic changes. To address this unmet clinical need, this project will develop a novel wearable rehabilitation robot suitable for in-bed acute stage rehabilitation with guided motor relearning, passive and active motor-sensory rehabilitation early in the acute stage post-stroke including patients who are paralyzed with no motor output. The early acute stroke rehabilitation device will be evaluated in this clinical trial.

Conditions

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Stroke

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Randomized clinical trial with the study group and control group
Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

SINGLE

Outcome Assessors

Study Groups

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Study group - Wearable ankle robot rehab

Wearable rehab robot with motor relearning with real-time feedback, passive stretching under intelligent control; Active movement training with robotic assistance

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Motor relearning training

Intervention Type DEVICE

Ankle motor control relearning training under real-time feedback

Passive stretching

Intervention Type DEVICE

Passive stretching under intelligent robotic control

Gamed-based active movement training

Intervention Type DEVICE

Active movement training through movement games with robotic assistance

Control group - Limited wearable ankle robot rehab

The same wearable robot used by the study group will be used for the control group but in a limited way: no motor relearning training under real-time feedback; passive movement in the joint middle range of motion instead of passive stretching; active movement training with no robotic assistance

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Passive movement

Intervention Type DEVICE

Passive movement in the joint middle range of motion

Active movement training

Intervention Type DEVICE

Active movement training without robotic assistance

Ankle torque and motion measurement

Intervention Type DEVICE

Ankle torque and motion measurement with no real-time feedback

Interventions

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Motor relearning training

Ankle motor control relearning training under real-time feedback

Intervention Type DEVICE

Passive stretching

Passive stretching under intelligent robotic control

Intervention Type DEVICE

Gamed-based active movement training

Active movement training through movement games with robotic assistance

Intervention Type DEVICE

Passive movement

Passive movement in the joint middle range of motion

Intervention Type DEVICE

Active movement training

Active movement training without robotic assistance

Intervention Type DEVICE

Ankle torque and motion measurement

Ankle torque and motion measurement with no real-time feedback

Intervention Type DEVICE

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Acute first time unilateral hemispheric stroke (hemorrhagic or ischemic stroke, 24 hours after admission to 1 month post-stroke at the start of the proposed treatment)
* Hemiplegia or hemiparesis
* 0≤Manual Muscle Testing (MMT)\<=2
* Age 30-85
* Ankle impairments including stiff calf muscles and/or inadequate dorsiflexion

Exclusion Criteria

* Medically not stable
* Associated acute medical illness that interferes with ability to training and exercise
* No impairment or very mild ankle impairment of ankle
* Severe cardiovascular problems that interfere with ability to perform moderate movement exercises
* Cognitive impairment or aphasia with inability to follow instructions
* Severe pain in legs
* Severe ankle contracture greater than 15° plantar flexion (when pushing ankle to dorsiflexion)
* Pressure ulcer, recent surgical incision or active skin disease with open wounds present below knee
Minimum Eligible Age

30 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

85 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

University of Maryland, Baltimore

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Li-Qun Zhang

Professor

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Li-Qun Zhang

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Maryland

Locations

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University of Maryland Baltimore

Baltimore, Maryland, United States

Site Status RECRUITING

UMROI

Baltimore, Maryland, United States

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

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United States

Central Contacts

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Soh-Hyun Hur

Role: CONTACT

410 706-8625

Facility Contacts

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Dali Xu, PhD

Role: primary

Peiwen Fu, BS

Role: backup

Dali Xu

Role: primary

Peiwen Fu

Role: backup

References

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Zhao H, Wu YN, Hwang M, Ren Y, Gao F, Gaebler-Spira D, Zhang LQ. Changes of calf muscle-tendon biomechanical properties induced by passive-stretching and active-movement training in children with cerebral palsy. J Appl Physiol (1985). 2011 Aug;111(2):435-42. doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.01361.2010. Epub 2011 May 19.

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Chung SG, van Rey E, Bai Z, Rymer WZ, Roth EJ, Zhang LQ. Separate quantification of reflex and nonreflex components of spastic hypertonia in chronic hemiparesis. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2008 Apr;89(4):700-10. doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2007.09.051.

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Chung SG, Van Rey E, Bai Z, Roth EJ, Zhang LQ. Biomechanic changes in passive properties of hemiplegic ankles with spastic hypertonia. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2004 Oct;85(10):1638-46. doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2003.11.041.

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Gao F, Ren Y, Roth EJ, Harvey R, Zhang LQ. Effects of repeated ankle stretching on calf muscle-tendon and ankle biomechanical properties in stroke survivors. Clin Biomech (Bristol). 2011 Jun;26(5):516-22. doi: 10.1016/j.clinbiomech.2010.12.003. Epub 2011 Jan 6.

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Other Identifiers

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HP-00110205

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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