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Action Observation Training for Upper Limb Rehabilitation in Stroke Patients

Neuro-rehabilitation of Upper Limb Stroke Patients Through Motor Resonance and Mirror Neurons

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT04622189
Enrollment
10
Registered
2020-11-09
Start date
2020-06-11
Completion date
2021-12-09
Last updated
2022-05-25

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Stroke Rehabilitation

Keywords

Stroke, Rehabilitation, AOT, kinematic, brain plasticity, mirror neuron system

Brief summary

The purpose of this study is to assess the changes in physiological parameters and clinical scales resulting from treatment with AOT (action observation training) in subjects with subacute stroke. Furthermore, this study assess the perception of applicability and satisfaction degree for this kind of treatments.

Detailed description

After being informed about the study, all patients give written informed consent and will undergo a 1-week screening period to determine eligibility for study entry. Patient who meet the eligibility requirements will be given clinical and instrumental assessments before the start of treatment (T0) after 3 weeks (T1), at the end of the treatment (T2) and after 6 months (T3). A training program of 4 weeks including 250 videos of every day actions has been developed. Videos includes transitive and intransitive actions. Each week has a five day program, each day is divided in three sessions, in each session there are observation and imitation and attentional questions. AOT is always performed in conjunction with the conventional rehabilitation program.

Interventions

Integration of four main tools: * PATIENT INTERFACE, which has been implemented to present stimuli with a user friendly interface, with personalized menu and with the possibility to manage the training program; user personal page containing user information and history of activities with daily performance are stored too. * MOCAP during action imitation will be recorded using MindMotion infrared camera to capture the trunk movement while an electromagnetic system (Trackstar from NDI) will be used to record fingers fine movements. * EEG data will be collected during video observation using an Enobio wireless system integrated with the platform.

Sponsors

Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia
CollaboratorOTHER
University Hospital of Ferrara
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Should had experienced first ever ischemic or haemorrhagic stroke * Fugl-Meyer Assessment \< 55 * normal or corrected to normal visual acuity

Exclusion criteria

* presence of severe neuropsychological disorders * medical conditions likely to interfere with the ability to safely complete the study protocol * pain in the upper limb assessed with the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)\> 7 * intracranial metal implants * history of seizures or epilepsy * severe cardiopulmonary, renal, and hepatic diseases * pregnancy

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change in Oxford Cognitive Screen between two time pointsBaseline and week 4is a stroke-specific cognitive screen
Change in Fugl-Meyer Assessment Upper Extremity between four time pointsBaseline, week 3, week 4, after 6 monthsScale that assess the sensorimotor impairment in individuals who have had stroke.
Change in Barthel Index between four time pointsBaseline, week 3, week 4,after 6 monthsScale that measures disability or dependence in activities of daily living in stroke patients.
Change in Box and Block Test between four time pointsBaseline, week 3, week 4,after 6 monthsTo assess unilateral gross manual dexterity
Change in Modified Ashworth Scale between four time pointsBaseline, week 3, week 4,after 6 monthsTo measure spasticity. It consists of a 5-point nominal scale using subjective clinical assessments of tone ranging from 0 - 'No increases in tone' to 4 - 'Limb rigid in flexion or extension \[abduction/adduction\]'. An additional grade is added (1+) for the MAS to indicate resistance in the movement.
Change in Visual Analogue Scale between four time pointsBaseline , week 3, week 4,after 6 monthsScale that consists of a straight line with the endpoints defining extreme limits such as 'no pain at all' and 'pain as bad as it could be'. The length of the line is 10-cm. Measurements from the starting point (left end) of the scale to the patients' marks are recorded in centimeters and are interpreted as their pain.
Electroencephalography power in alpha bandUp to 1 monthEEG data will be recorded to test presence of particular changes in brain activity in during AOT training. In particular plasticity and mu rhythm desynchronization will be investigated.
Motion Capture (MOCAP) recordingsUp to 1 monthKinematic data of trunk and affected hand will be recorded during subject imitations and will be analysed to assess any improvements.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Applicability perception and satisfaction degree of the proposed treatmentAt week 4self-report questionnaire using a 5 point Likert scale (1 - Strongly disagree; 5 - Strongly agree). Higher score indicates greater satisfaction with the treatment.

Countries

Italy

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026