Effect of Hand Rehabilitation Robot on Acute Stroke

Summary

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of hand robot-assisted therapy on functionality, fine motor skills, and activities of daily living (ADLs) in acute stroke rehabilitation. A total of 30 participants aged 40-60 years with a diagnosis of stroke were randomly assigned to two groups: a neurodevelopmental treatment (NDT) group (n=15) and a hand robot-assisted therapy group (n=15). The NDT group received a standard rehabilitation program, including strengthening, stretching, and fine motor activities, three times per week for 8 weeks. The hand robot group received the same NDT program with the addition of hand robot therapy sessions three times per week for 8 weeks.

Outcome measures included the ABILHAND Stroke Questionnaire for hand function, the Barthel Index (BI) for ADLs, the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) Questionnaire for functionality, the Nine-Hole Peg Test (NHPT) for fine motor skills, and the Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS) for spasticity. Both groups showed significant improvements in ADLs, fine motor skills, and ABILHAND scores after treatment (p\<0.05). The hand robot group demonstrated superior improvements in BI and NHPT scores compared to the NDT group (p\<0.05), while other parameters showed comparable results between groups.

Hand robot-assisted therapy may serve as a complementary approach to neurodevelopmental treatment in individuals with acute stroke.

Conditions

• Stroke
• Rehabilitation

Interventions

OTHER

NDT

The neurodevelopmental therapy program aimed to reduce muscle tone, improve hand functions, enhance fine motor skills, and support daily living activities such as eating and personal care. Specific exercises included: Finger and wrist flexion/extension, Shoulder and elbow stretching and mobilization, PNF exercises, Functional tasks like screw and nut manipulation, Velcro tasks, door handle turning, button pressing, zipper pulling, and laundry peg placement/removal.

OTHER

NDT+Hand Robot

In this group, participants received 25 minutes of hand robot-assisted therapy following neurodevelopmental treatment. After the robot therapy, they performed fine motor skill exercises, including: Picking up buttons from one container and placing them in another, Opening a loosely closed jar lid using the robot, Stacking checkers pieces on a table, Flipping over and placing cards back on the table, Transferring weighted cubes from one table to another at a different height. These activities aimed to improve fine motor coordination and hand functionality.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Istanbul Medipol University Hospital

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Burak Menek · Medipol University

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

40 Years

Max Age

60 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2024-01-27

Primary Completion

2024-11-15

Completion

2025-01-05

Countries

• Turkey (Türkiye)

Study Locations