Please select the eligibility criteria that correspond to the clinical trial below.
Title: Neurocognitive Robot-assisted Rehabilitation of Hand Function After Stroke
Brief Summary: The aim of this project is to clinically evaluate a novel robot-assisted therapeutic approach to train sensorimotor hand function after stroke. It combines the profound experience of the clinic Hildebrand in neurocognitive therapy - involving brain and mind in the task and training both the motor and the sensory system - with the advanced haptic robotic technology of the Rehabilitation Engineering Lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich), allowing unmet interaction with the hand through the simulation of virtual objects with various mechanical properties. In a randomized controlled clinical trial, 10 sub-acute stroke patients will receive four weeks of robotic therapy sessions, integrated seamlessly into their daily rehabilitation program, while 10 other patients will receive conventional therapy. The investigators will assess baseline performance in an initial clinical and robotic assessment, with another assessment at the end of the four-week period, and in follow-ups four weeks and six months later. The contents of the patient-tailored robotic therapy sessions will match those of the conventional therapy as closely as possible. This study will demonstrate the feasibility of including robotic therapy of hand function into the daily rehabilitation program, and investigate the acceptance from patients and therapists. The investigators expect increased training intensity during the robotic therapy session compared to conventional sessions with similar contents, as well as novel insights into the recovery process of both the motor and the sensory system during the four weeks of therapy, through advanced robotic assessments integrated into the training sessions. This project is a first step towards making such robotic therapy available to patients as integration into the conventional individual therapy program (e.g. for self-training), and towards transferring this technology to the home environment.


Options:
A: Inclusion Criteria:

* patient at REHAB Basel
* brain-injury
* willing to participate in animal-assisted therapies
* physical and psychological resilience and ability to go/be transported outside to the "Therapie-Tiergarten"
* ability to get in contact with the animal autonomously

Exclusion Criteria:

* medical contraindications:allergies, phobias, etc.
* no willingness to participate in animal-assisted therapies
* patient might present a danger to the animals (aggressive behaviour)
* patient's medication changes radically during the time of data collection
B: Inclusion Criteria:

1. Ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke occurring at least 6 months prior to enrollment
2. Age range from 20 to 90 years
3. MMSE score ≥ 19
4. MoCA\<26
5. Self- or informant-reported memory or cognitive complaints or CDR scale ≤ 0.5
6. Able to follow the study instruction
7. Adequate cardiopulmonary function to perform aerobic exercise
8. Able to walk with or without assistive devices

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Unstable medical history (e.g., recent myocardial infarction) that might limit participation
2. Concomitant with other neurological disorders (e.g., Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis)
3. Current participation in another interventional trial
C: Inclusion Criteria:

* age between 18-90 years old
* hemisyndrome (central paralysis of the upper extremity, and all degrees of weakness: M0 - M5 on the paresis scale) as a result of a first stroke
* sub-acute lesion not more than 6 weeks post ictus

Exclusion Criteria:

* insufficient state of consciousness
* severe aphasia
* severe cognitive deficits
* severe pathologies of the upper extremity of traumatic or rheumatic nature
* severe pain in the affected arm
* Patients with pacemakers and other active implants
D: Inclusion Criteria:

Neurological diagnosis of stroke in the post-acute phase (3 months from the acute event); age between 40 and 80; and Caucasian ethnicity; a FIM motor score equal to or greater than 30 and moderate to mild cognitive impairment (MoCA\> 18); Fugl-Meyer scale score of\> 18;

Exclusion Criteria:

Patients with a history of concomitant neurodegenerative diseases or brain surgery; severe cognitive or language impairment; systemic, bone or joint disorders; presence of disabling sensory alterations; concomitant medical and psychiatric illness that could interfere with VR training.

Answer: C