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Feasibility of a Second Iteration Wrist and Hand Supported Training System for Self-administered Training at Home in Chronic Stroke

Authors:
Sharon M Nijenhuis
Gerdienke B Prange-Lasonder
Farshid Amirabdollahian
Francesco Infarinato
Jaap H Buurke
Johan S Rietman

Keywords: stroke; upper extremity; telerehabilitation; dynamic orthotic device; rehabilitation games; home training

Abstract:
Telerehabilitation allows continued rehabilitation at home after discharge. The use of rehabilitation technology supporting wrist and hand movements within a motivational gaming environment could enable patients to train independently and ultimately serve as a way to increase the dosage of practice. This has been previously examined in the European Supervised Care & Rehabilitation Involving Personal Telerobotics (SCRIPT) project using a first prototype, showing potential feasibility, although several usability issues needed further attention. The current study examined feasibility and clinical changes of a second iteration training system, involving an updated wrist and hand supporting orthosis and larger variety of games with respect to the first iteration. The paper is relevant for the conference, reporting a new telemedicine service, combining physical orthotic support with remote offline supervision, for telerehabilitation at home after stroke. Nine chronic stroke patients with impaired arm and hand function were recruited to use the training system at home for six weeks. Evaluation of feasibility and arm and hand function were assessed before and after training. Median weekly training duration was 113 minutes. Participants accepted the six weeks of training (median Intrinsic Motivation Inventory = 4.4 points and median System Usability Scale = 73%). After training, significant improvements were found for the Fugl-Meyer assessment, Action Research Arm Test and self-perceived amount of arm and hand use in daily life. These findings indicate that technology-supported arm and hand training can be a promising tool for self-administered practice at home after stroke.

Pages: 51 to 56

Copyright: Copyright (c) IARIA, 2016

Publication date: April 24, 2016

Published in: conference

ISSN: 2308-4359

ISBN: 978-1-61208-470-1

Location: Venice, Italy

Dates: from April 24, 2016 to April 28, 2016