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fNIRS for Monitoring Cortical Activity in Stroke Recovery

NCT07623512 · Status: RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 108

Last updated 2026-06-16

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

This clinical trial aims to investigate the mechanisms of brain reorganization underlying motor recovery following end-effector (EE) and exoskeleton (Exo) robot-assisted hand training in individuals with stroke. Using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), the study will (1) investigate brain activation patterns during EE and Exo robot-assisted hand movements in healthy adults and individuals with stroke and (2) examine longitudinal changes in brain activation and motor recovery over a 6-week intervention.

For Part 1, a cross-sectional observational study will be conducted to examine brain activation using fNIRS while participants perform EE and Exo robot-assisted movements. Healthy adults and individuals with stroke will each perform one session of each type of robot-assisted movement.

For Part 2, an evaluator-blinded randomized controlled design will be used. Participants will be stratified based on the level of motor impairment and the side of the brain lesion and then randomly assigned to either the EE or Exo robot-assisted training group. Both groups will receive training 3 times per week, with each session lasting 60 minutes, for a total of 6 weeks. Each session will include 40 minutes of robot-assisted therapy and 20 minutes of functional training.

Outcome assessments will be conducted at four time points: prior to the intervention (baseline), mid-intervention (during weeks 3-4 of the intervention), immediately after the intervention, and at the 3-month post-trial follow-up. These assessments will be used to evaluate motor recovery and longitudinal changes in brain function.

Conditions

Interventions

DEVICE

Robot-assisted therapy (EE or EXO system) and functional training

Each group will receive intervention 3 times per week, 60 minutes per session, for a total duration of 6 weeks. The intervention will consist of 40 minutes of robot-assisted therapy and 20 minutes of functional training. For the robot-assisted therapy, participants will receive training using either the EE or EXO system according to group allocation. The functional training component will be conducted without robotic assistance and will focus on task-oriented activities to facilitate the transfer of motor learning to functional performance.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Chang Gung Memorial Hospital

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Chieh-ling Yang · Chang Gung University

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
20 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2025-11-28
Primary Completion
2028-12-31
Completion
2028-12-31

Countries

  • Taiwan

Study Locations

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Entities

Diseases

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT07623512 on ClinicalTrials.gov