Proprioceptive Error Correction for Post-Stroke Upper Limb Rehabilitation

Summary

The investigators aim to develop sensory transformation and augmentation technologies that minimize the impact of proprioceptive errors, thereby significantly enhancing motor learning and rehabilitation of the upper limbs. This study is designed to test proprioceptive error compensation techniques in stroke patients.

The human nervous system often receives mismatched information from vision and proprioception during upper limb control, resulting in conflicting sensory inputs that limit the effectiveness of motor learning. In other words, real-time sensory feedback - a critical component of motor learning in the nervous system - is not reliably delivered. Therefore, this study seeks to resolve sensory conflicts by providing additional sensory information through electrical stimulation, with the goal of dramatically improving the effectiveness of motor learning.

Conditions

• Ischemic Stroke
• Proprioception

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Electrical stimulation cue

A single 30-minute session is provided. Electrodes are attached to the cubital fossa, and stimulation is delivered at a frequency that increases up to 70 Hz as the elbow joint approaches the target angle. Target angles are set between 0 degrees and 120 degrees, based on each participant's available range of motion determined during the initial assessment. Participants adjust their elbow joint angle to match the provided target angle using feedback from the electrical stimulation. When the elbow joint angle matches the target angle, the maximum frequency is applied to the cubital fossa. Participants match their elbow joint angle to the target angle based on the given frequency.

BEHAVIORAL

Visual stimulation cue

A single 30-minute session is provided. The difference between the current elbow joint angle and the pre-set target angle is displayed on a screen using two colored needles (a red needle for the target angle and a black needle for the current elbow joint angle). The target angle is set within each participant's available range of motion based on the initial assessment. Participants continue the intervention by adjusting their elbow angle using the visual feedback. When the elbow joint angle matches the target angle, the two needles overlap. Based on this visual cue, participants adjust their elbow joint angle to match the target angle.

BEHAVIORAL

No cue

A single 30-minute session is provided. The target angle is determined within each participant's available range of motion based on the initial assessment. Throughout the session, participants receive verbal feedback from the assessor and adjust their elbow joint angle accordingly to match the target angle.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Sungkyunkwan University

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age

19 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2025-10-13

Primary Completion

2025-12-31

Completion

2026-08-30

Countries

• South Korea

Study Locations