Virtual Environments Integrated with FES for Hemiplegia
This program is an important initial step in the development of a new therapy combining that is applicable to a wide range of children with cerebral palsy, including those with severe degrees of hand disability.
The program’s significance to public health is to contribute to an unmet need for increased understanding of motor learning mechanisms and development of clinically viable techniques for treating congenital and developmental disabilities.
About This Study
This program will assess a new therapy for improving hand function in children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy utilizing an innovative neuromuscular electrical stimulation therapy that incorporates several rehabilitation techniques shown to improve recovery. Contralaterally Controlled Functional Electrical Stimulation (CCFES) activates paretic muscles to open and close the affected hand in direct proportion to the degree of opening and closing of the unimpaired contralateral hand, as detected by a sensor glove. CCFES is used in combination with hand therapy video games.
Study Information
The six-week treatment consists of daily video game therapy at home and functional task practice sessions in the lab twice a week for the first 3 weeks and once per week for the final 3 weeks. Outcome measures will include assessments of upper extremity motor impairment and activity limitation using clinical assessments, along with instrumented assessments. The clinical measures will help power larger future clinical trials, while the instrumented assessments directly examine motor dysfunctions targeted by CCFES and will begin to reveal neural circuits and behaviors that can influence CCFES-mediated motor learning in hemiplegic CP.
Detailed program information available at: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02925455
This study is not actively recruiting participants
Narrative
Hand Therapy Video Games
Principal Investigators: Michael Fu, PhD
Contact Number: (216) 957-3597
Contact Email: mjf24@case.edu
Contact Request
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