Serious Games for Serious Outcomes: Enhancing Cognition, Balance, and Quality of Life in Children With Cerebral Palsy
NCT ID: NCT07158424
Last Updated: 2025-09-05
Study Results
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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RECRUITING
NA
30 participants
INTERVENTIONAL
2024-11-11
2026-01-02
Brief Summary
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What we are studying. This study is focused at whether serious games from the Vana Vital platform-that was specifically designed for rehabilitation-can improve balance, cognition, and quality of life in children with CP. These games are not ordinary video games: they were created to encourage children to move, focus, and solve problems at the same time (dual-tasking).
The expected benefits include:
* Better trunk control and stability.
* Improved memory, attention, and reasoning.
* Enhanced participation in daily life and overall well-being.
Takeaway. This study is exploring an innovative approach to rehabilitation: using technology and games not only to strengthen the body but also to train the mind. If successful, this method may provide a fun, effective, and family-friendly addition to traditional therapies for children with CP.
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Detailed Description
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Traditional rehabilitation programs focus on improving physical functions, especially motor control and balance. Training only movement may not be enough. Children may benefit from approaches that combine movement and cognitive training-practicing how to move while also thinking, remembering, or making quick decisions.
This idea is called dual-tasking: doing two things at the same time, such as walking while answering a question, or maintaining balance while remembering a sequence. In real life, dual-tasking is what we do constantly-walking while talking to a friend, keeping balance while carrying a schoolbag, or focusing in class while sitting upright. For children with CP, dual-tasking can be particularly difficult, but also particularly beneficial to practice.
Serious games are a new, innovative way to provide this training. Unlike ordinary video games, serious games are designed specifically for therapeutic purposes. They are meant to be engaging and motivating for children, while at the same time targeting key skills in motor and cognitive development.
What Makes This Study Unique. This study is among the first randomized controlled trials to test the Vana Vital platform-a suite of computer-based serious games that combine physical movements with cognitive tasks. Instead of repetitive exercises, children engage in playful adventures that require them to move their bodies while also solving challenges.
Study Design in Practice. The study follows the structure of a prospective, single-blind randomized controlled trial, which means that children are randomly assigned to groups, and the evaluators do not know which group each child belongs to (to reduce bias).
Group allocation:
Experimental Group 1: Standard rehabilitation program + serious games. Control Group 1: Standard rehabilitation program only. Control Group 2: Standard program + 30 extra minutes of physical therapy daily.
This design allows researchers to see whether serious games add benefits beyond standard care.
Expected outcomes for children include:
Stronger trunk control and better stability when sitting, standing, or walking. Improved memory, attention, and problem-solving skills. A more positive experience of rehabilitation, making therapy feel less like work and more like play.
Potential improvements in everyday life, such as sitting upright in school, playing with peers, or participating in family activities.
What Health Care Providers Can Expect For clinicians, this study provides structured evidence on the feasibility and effectiveness of adding game-based dual-task training to rehabilitation.
Conclusion This study represents a step forward in child-centered rehabilitation. Instead of seeing therapy as hard work, children can experience it as an adventure with Woo in fun, interactive worlds. By training both the body and the mind, serious games have the potential to improve balance, cognition, and overall quality of life for children with cerebral palsy.
The results of this randomized controlled trial will help healthcare providers understand whether game-based dual-tasking should become a regular part of rehabilitation programs-and will give families hope for more enjoyable, effective, and innovative ways to support their children's development.
Conditions
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Study Design
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RANDOMIZED
PARALLEL
TREATMENT
DOUBLE
Study Groups
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Standard rehabilitation program + serious games
Participants in the experimental groups engage in daily sessions of serious games from the Vana Vital Platform. Each child play for 30 minutes per day over 10 training days.
In addition, participants continue their intensive rehabilitation program.
Serious games
Participants in the experimental groups engage in daily sessions of serious games from the Vana Vital Platform (Super Surfer, Hungry Woo, Paddle Waddle, Woo's Wonderful World Adventure). Each child will for 30 minutes per day over 10 training days.
Intensive rehabilitation
Participants receive their intensive rehabilitation program, which includes:
30 minutes of physical therapy (PT) 20 minutes of occupational therapy 5 minutes of spinal manipulative therapy 60 minutes of full-body massage with reflexotherapy 15 minutes of joint mobilization 15 minutes of treadmill gait training (with or without suspension) 15 minutes of strength training 30 minutes of group rhythmic gymnastics
Standard rehabilitation program + 30 extra minutes of physical therapy
Participants receive their intensive rehabilitation program, with an additional 30 minutes of physical therapy
Intensive rehabilitation
Participants receive their intensive rehabilitation program, which includes:
30 minutes of physical therapy (PT) 20 minutes of occupational therapy 5 minutes of spinal manipulative therapy 60 minutes of full-body massage with reflexotherapy 15 minutes of joint mobilization 15 minutes of treadmill gait training (with or without suspension) 15 minutes of strength training 30 minutes of group rhythmic gymnastics
Physical therapy
Participants receive an additional 30 minutes of physical therapy (PT)
Standard rehabilitation program only
Participants receive their intensive rehabilitation program.
Intensive rehabilitation
Participants receive their intensive rehabilitation program, which includes:
30 minutes of physical therapy (PT) 20 minutes of occupational therapy 5 minutes of spinal manipulative therapy 60 minutes of full-body massage with reflexotherapy 15 minutes of joint mobilization 15 minutes of treadmill gait training (with or without suspension) 15 minutes of strength training 30 minutes of group rhythmic gymnastics
Interventions
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Serious games
Participants in the experimental groups engage in daily sessions of serious games from the Vana Vital Platform (Super Surfer, Hungry Woo, Paddle Waddle, Woo's Wonderful World Adventure). Each child will for 30 minutes per day over 10 training days.
Intensive rehabilitation
Participants receive their intensive rehabilitation program, which includes:
30 minutes of physical therapy (PT) 20 minutes of occupational therapy 5 minutes of spinal manipulative therapy 60 minutes of full-body massage with reflexotherapy 15 minutes of joint mobilization 15 minutes of treadmill gait training (with or without suspension) 15 minutes of strength training 30 minutes of group rhythmic gymnastics
Physical therapy
Participants receive an additional 30 minutes of physical therapy (PT)
Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria
* Ability to attend the educational institutions
* GMFCS I, II, III
Exclusion Criteria
* Uncooperative behaviour
* Uncontrolled seizures
6 Years
14 Years
ALL
Yes
Sponsors
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Hasselt University
OTHER
Nataliya Hrabarchuk
INDUSTRY
Responsible Party
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Nataliya Hrabarchuk
Dr.
Locations
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Elita Rehabilitation Center
Lviv, Lviv Oblast, Ukraine
Countries
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Central Contacts
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References
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Stadskleiv K. Cognitive functioning in children with cerebral palsy. Dev Med Child Neurol. 2020 Mar;62(3):283-289. doi: 10.1111/dmcn.14463. Epub 2020 Jan 9.
Kushnir A, Kachmar O. Intensive Neurophysiological Rehabilitation System for children with cerebral palsy: a quasi-randomized controlled trial. BMC Neurol. 2023 Apr 20;23(1):157. doi: 10.1186/s12883-023-03216-4.
Kachmar O, Kushnir A, Fedchyshyn B, Cristiano J, O'Flaherty J, Helland K, Johnson G, Puig D. Personalized balance games for children with cerebral palsy: A pilot study. J Pediatr Rehabil Med. 2021;14(2):237-245. doi: 10.3233/PRM-190666.
Endicott J, Nee J, Yang R, Wohlberg C. Pediatric Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire (PQ-LES-Q): reliability and validity. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2006 Apr;45(4):401-7. doi: 10.1097/01.chi.0000198590.38325.81.
Pueyo R, Junque C, Vendrell P, Narberhaus A, Segarra D. Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices as a measure of cognitive functioning in Cerebral Palsy. J Intellect Disabil Res. 2008 May;52(Pt 5):437-45. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2788.2008.01045.x. Epub 2008 Feb 28.
Heyrman L, Molenaers G, Desloovere K, Verheyden G, De Cat J, Monbaliu E, Feys H. A clinical tool to measure trunk control in children with cerebral palsy: the Trunk Control Measurement Scale. Res Dev Disabil. 2011 Nov-Dec;32(6):2624-35. doi: 10.1016/j.ridd.2011.06.012. Epub 2011 Jul 14.
Szturm T, Parmar ST, Mehta K, Shetty DR, Kanitkar A, Eskicioglu R, Gaonkar N. Game-Based Dual-Task Exercise Program for Children with Cerebral Palsy: Blending Balance, Visuomotor and Cognitive Training: Feasibility Randomized Control Trial. Sensors (Basel). 2022 Jan 19;22(3):761. doi: 10.3390/s22030761.
Related Links
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Vana Vital platform that collects the serious games that are used in the study
Sway Medical platform that contains tests to assess cognition
Other Identifiers
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ElitaRehab
Identifier Type: -
Identifier Source: org_study_id
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