Clinical Study of a Wearable Remote Rehabilitation Training System for Patients With Stroke: Randomized Controlled
Liquan Guo1,2, Jiping Wang1,2, Qunqiang Wu3
1School of Biomedical Engineering (Suzhou), Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Suzhou, China.
JMIR Mhealth and Uhealth
|February 23, 2023
Summary
A new remote rehabilitation system using wearable devices significantly improved motor function in stroke patients compared to traditional therapy. This technology offers a promising solution for effective, unsupervised post-stroke rehabilitation at home or in communities.
Area of Science:
- Rehabilitation Medicine
- Biomedical Engineering
- Human-Computer Interaction
Background:
- Stroke rehabilitation resources are insufficient for the growing patient population.
- Effective home-based rehabilitation solutions are urgently needed, especially for post-discharge patients.
- Existing home rehabilitation systems using wearable devices or Kinect have limitations like complexity and high cost.
Purpose of the Study:
- To design and evaluate a remote intelligent rehabilitation training system.
- The system integrates wearable devices and human-computer interaction for motor rehabilitation.
- To assess the system's effectiveness and safety in non-physician-supervised stroke rehabilitation.
Main Methods:
- A 3-week randomized controlled trial was conducted with 120 stroke patients.
- The experimental group used the remote system alongside physical therapy (PT).
- The control group received occupational therapy (OT) and PT.
Main Results:
- The experimental group showed a statistically significant greater improvement in Fugl-Meyer scores (17.56 vs 11.98, P=.005).
- Upper extremity scores improved significantly more in the experimental group (11.28 vs 7.45, P=.01).
- Both groups showed improvements, but the remote system group demonstrated superior outcomes.
Conclusions:
- The developed remote rehabilitation system is effective and can substitute for routine clinical OT.
- Future applications include unsupervised use in rehabilitation centers, communities, and homes after certification.
- This system addresses the need for accessible and effective stroke motor rehabilitation.
