Progressive Transition From Supervised to Unsupervised Robot-Assisted Therapy After Stroke: Protocol for a...

Area of Science:

• Neurorehabilitation
• Robotics in Medicine
• Stroke Recovery

Background:

• Increasing therapy dose post-stroke can improve outcomes.
• Unsupervised technology-assisted rehabilitation offers a scalable solution.
• Active robots are underutilized in unsupervised settings, with varied outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate the feasibility of unsupervised active robot therapy for stroke patients.
• Evaluate a systematic approach for transitioning to unsupervised rehabilitation.
• Assess therapy dose, user experience, and technology usability.

Main Methods:

• 4-week intervention with a hand rehabilitation robot for subacute stroke inpatients.
• Week 1: Supervised training; Week 2: Minimally supervised training.
• Weeks 3-4: Unsupervised training if participants master device use.

Main Results:

• 13 patients recruited and completed the protocol as of April 2023.
• No adverse events were reported during the study.
• Data collection ongoing for feasibility, therapy dose, usability, and user experience.

Conclusions:

• The study will determine the feasibility of unsupervised robotic rehabilitation and its impact on therapy dose.
• A systematic transition approach could standardize comparisons and facilitate home-based use.
• Findings may establish a benchmark for technology-assisted rehabilitation and home-based applications.