Early Intensive Hand Rehabilitation After Spinal Cord Injury

Summary

Loss of hand function is one of the most devastating consequences of tetraplegia because of the severe impact on activities of daily living (ADL) and the resultant dependency on others. This multi-centre study in 78 participants will measure whether additional hand therapy provided via an electrical stimulator glove and specialised computer workstation improves hand function in people with tetraplegia.

Conditions

• Spinal Cord Injury

Interventions

DEVICE

ReJoyce Workstation

The device has two parts. A muscle-stimulator garment that incorporates a wireless-triggered stimulator cuff and an earpiece, similar to a hearing aid, that sends a radio signal to the stimulator cuff. As well as a specialised workstation known as ReJoyce, which connects to a standard computer via a USB port. This work station will allow the user to play specialised computer games focusing on hand function. The stimulator system and the ReJoyce workstation were developed by Professor Arthur Prochazka, University of Alberta, Canada and has been approved by the Canadian Standards Association.

OTHER

Standard Care

All participants will continue to receive the same standard care for the hand and upper limb as typically provided by their rehabilitation units.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Austin Hospital, Melbourne Australia

  collaborator OTHER

• Hampstead Rehabilitation Centre Adelaide

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Shenton Park Rehabilitation Centre Perth

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane, Australia

  collaborator OTHER

• Royal Rehabilitation Centre Sydney

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney

  collaborator OTHER_GOV

• Burwood Hospital, Christchurch, New Zealand

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Melbourne

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Lisa Harvey · University of Sydney

• Mary Galea · University of Melbourne

• Sarah Dunlop · The University of Western Australia

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

16 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2009-09-30

Primary Completion

2012-12-31

Completion

2015-09-30

Countries

• Australia
• New Zealand

Study Locations