Vision and Proprioception Evaluation With Robotics After Stroke

NCT ID: NCT07254949

Last Updated: 2025-11-28

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING
• Total Enrollment: 425 participants
• Study Classification: OBSERVATIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2026-01-31
• Study Completion Date: 2031-06-30

Brief Summary

Stroke is highly prevalent in Canada and can lead to profound upper limb impairments in motor and sensory function, as well and vision. Clinical assessments for these functions often lack sensitivity making detecting impairments and tracking their recovery after stroke difficult. It is known that sensory function and vision interact to inform motor behaviours, yet how each of these modalities might contribute to motor impairments and subsequent recovery after stroke is undetermined.

Using robotics to assess neurologic function after a stroke can be very beneficial, as they can measure on the scale of millimetres and milliseconds which can more easily detect subtle deficits in a persons function. Compared to current clinical tools, robotics offer greater objectivity and reliability, as they do not rely on the examiners clinical experience and/or impression. The use of robotics not only offers a more precise measurement, but robotics assessments can be completed in a relatively short amount of time, in comparison to some of the current clinical assessment tools, which can take along time to complete. In addition to robotics, collecting neuroimaging (MRI/CT) will allow us to relate our robotic and eye-tracking measures to neuroanatomical information about the person's stroke. With this data, we will assess how the brain changes post-stroke in relation to the recovery of motor, sensory and visual functions.

This research will: 1) examine the relationship between visual and proprioceptive impairment on motor and eye movement behaviour over time after stroke, and 2) identify neuroanatomical correlates of visual, proprioceptive and sensory integrative dysfunction that impact motor recovery after stroke and examine the ability of regional damage and network disruption to predict recovery.

Objectives:

1. Determine the impact of visual field loss and visual neglect in stroke survivors with impaired movement over the first 6 months post-stroke.

2. Identify the impact of Proprioceptive Impairment and Sensory Integration Impairment on recovery post-stroke using robotics and eye tracking.

3. Understand the impact of damage to neuroanatomic structures involved in vision, proprioception and sensory integration on motor recovery using MRI after stroke.

The VIPERS study is recruiting both stroke and control participants. Stroke participants are recruited within the first 28 days post-stroke and are assessed longitudinally across the first 6-months post-stroke (four study timepoints). Control participants just complete a single session.

Conditions

Stroke; Control Condition

Keywords

Stroke; Sensation; Movement; Vision; Robotics; Eye-Tracking; Imaging

Study Design

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

Study Groups

Stroke

Stroke Participants - Individuals with first time stroke

No interventions assigned to this group

Control

Control Participants - Individuals not suffering stroke or other neurological disorders

No interventions assigned to this group

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• 18 years of age or older
• First clinical diagnosis of stroke
• No recent muscle skeletal injuries to the arms, neck, or back
• No history of other neurological disease/injury (Ie. MS, Parkinson's, Brain Tumour, etc.)
• Corrected vision 20/50 or better
• Able to follow multi-step commands.
• Living independently prior to stroke
• Can consent to participate in research

• 18 years of age or older
• No history stroke, or Trans Ischemic Attack (TIA)
• No recent muscle skeletal injures to the arms, neck, or back
• No history of other neurological disease/ injury (Ie. MS, Parkinson's, Brain Tumour, etc)
• No pre-stroke history of eye movement disorders
• Corrected vision 20/50 or better
• Able to follow multi-step commands
• Can consent to participate in research

Exclusion Criteria

• Prior history of stroke/significant neurologic problem (e.g. Parkinson's)
• Symptomatic medical conditions that would interfere with participation (e.g. uncontrolled angina)
• Contraindications to Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
• Pre-stroke history of visual field/oculomotor abnormalities.

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

Sponsors

Dr. Sean Dukelow

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Dr. Sean Dukelow

Principal Investigator

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR_INVESTIGATOR

Locations

Carewest Dr. Vernon Fanning Centre

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Foothills Medical Centre

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Countries

Canada

Facility Contacts

Rachel Stone

Role: primary

Rachel Stone

Role: primary

Other Identifiers

197953

Identifier Type: OTHER_GRANT

Identifier Source: secondary_id

REB25-1170

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id