Poststroke Neurorehabilitation Using a Soft Robotic Glove Combined With a Virtual Environment: Preliminary Study on Feasibility, Safety, Effects, and User Satisfaction
Bibliographic record
Abstract
Background: Optimizing rehabilitation intensity using a robotic-assisted hand rehabilitation exercise (RAHRE) program coupled with a virtual environment is a promising intervention as it aligns with key neuroplasticity principles. Objective: The aim of the study is to assess the feasibility, safety, preliminary effects, and satisfaction of the 2-week RAHRE program offered as an adjunct to conventional rehabilitation. Methods: In total, 11 adults with hand hemiparesis following a recent stroke and undergoing intensive functional rehabilitation were randomized into experimental and control groups. Both groups received conventional rehabilitation therapy over a 2-week period. The experimental group received 10 additional 30-minute sessions of the RAHRE program (5 times per week), incorporating 4 hand opening and closing exercises with personalized glove assistance or resistance levels with virtual reality over the same period. Measures of feasibility (ie, attendance rate, compliance rate, repetitions per session, active training time, therapist verbal cueing, and support required), safety (ie, discomfort and adverse effects), and satisfaction (ie, satisfaction questionnaire) were collected. Functional outcomes (ie, Action Research Arm Test [ARAT], Fugl-Meyer Assessment for the Upper Extremity [FMA-UE], Box and Block Test, ABILHAND) were also assessed before and after the intervention in both groups. Results: Attendance and compliance rates in the experimental group reached 96% (48 completed training sessions of 50 planned sessions) and 95% (1432 completed training minutes of 1500 planned minutes), respectively. Participants performed a median of 2543 (IQR 2368-2951) additional movement repetitions during the RAHRE program (median repetitions per session 260, IQR 173-365; median active training time 24 minutes 39 seconds, IQR 22 minutes 26 seconds-25 minutes 51 seconds). Minimal therapist verbal cueing and support were necessary for technology use (median glove donning time 46, IQR 27-60 seconds; median independence achieved in 6, IQR 4-7 sessions). No abnormal discomfort or adverse effects were reported. Both groups showed functional improvements in ARAT, FMA-UE, Box and Block Test, and ABILHAND. For the primary outcomes (ie, ARAT and FMA-UE), the median score changes were, respectively, 4.50 (IQR 0-9) and 4.00 (IQR 3-4) in the control group, and 4.00 (IQR 1-7.5) and 5.00 (IQR 5-6) in the experimental group. Excellent overall program satisfaction (median 5/5, IQR 5-5) was reported for the RAHRE program. Conclusions: The RAHRE program, as an adjunct to conventional rehabilitation therapy, emerges as being feasible, safe, beneficial, and satisfying for adults with hand hemiparesis following a recent stroke. However, careful interpretation of the results remains recommended given the strength of the evidence. Future studies providing higher-quality evidence are needed.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.002 | 0.002 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.001 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Open science | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Research integrity | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.002 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".