Telerehabilitation for the Hand and Arm After Stroke and Traumatic Brain Injury

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The goal of this project is to develop a low-cost, user-friendly, portable telerehabilitation system for physical therapy of the upper limb after stroke or traumatic brain injury. The system is based on the use of a commercially available force feedback joystick and will work with an ordinary home PC and a standard high-speed internet connection. Using the joystick, the patient will perform exercises designed to aid in recovering motor function of the hand and arm. The joystick will be programmed to either assist or resist the patient's movements. The system will include sophisticated analysis of patient status and progress to provide the therapist and physician with detailed information. In the first phase of the study, we will develop the system in cooperation with the physical therapy staff and other rehabilitation specialists. The investigators will examine the usability, comfort, safety and therapeutic benefit of the system. In the second phase of the study, the investigators will employ the system in patients' homes, using the internet to connect to rehabilitation specialists in the clinic. The study hypothesis is that it is possible to adapt commercially available, low cost gaming equipment such as force feedback joysticks to provide therapy for patients in their own homes, and that patients will be able to work with this system and will find it enjoyable and helpful for recovering motor function.

Conditions
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Cerebrovascular Accident, Traumatic Brain Injury

Intervention / Treatment
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* Device: The Jerusalem Telerehabilitation System


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Post-cerebrovascular accident or post-traumatic brain injury In medically stable condition Resident in Israel Note: In addition there will be healthy, age-matched volunteers Exclusion Criteria: History of psychiatric illness Grade of less than 23 in the Mini-Mental Test Inability to understand informed consent form Inability to follow 3-step instructions Pregnancy Receptive aphasia

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 20 Years
Maximum Age: 80 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Treatment
Allocation: Non-Randomized
Intervention Model: Single Group Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Intervention/Treatment |
| --- |
|Device: The Jerusalem Telerehabilitation System|nan|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Modified motor assessment scale |  |  | 
| Kinematic analysis |  |  | 
| Feedback questionnaires for patients, therapists and caretakers |  |  | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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cerebrovascular accident, traumatic brain injury, stroke, telerehabilitation