NCT04233710

Brief Summary

This study evaluates the use of robotic rehabilitation with and without transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to improve motor performance in children with hemiparetic cerebral palsy. Half of the participants will receive robotic rehabilitation and half will receive robotic rehabilitation with tDCS. We hypothesize that tDCS may augment the robotic therapy and show greater improvements than robotic therapy alone.

Trial Health

43
At Risk

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Trial has exceeded expected completion date
Enrollment
20

participants targeted

Target at below P25 for phase_2

Timeline
Completed

Started Mar 2019

Typical duration for phase_2

Geographic Reach
1 country

1 active site

Status
unknown

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

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Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

Study Start

First participant enrolled

March 25, 2019

Completed
10 months until next milestone

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

January 15, 2020

Completed
3 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

January 18, 2020

Completed
12 months until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

December 31, 2020

Completed
1 year until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

December 31, 2021

Completed
Last Updated

January 18, 2020

Status Verified

January 1, 2020

Enrollment Period

1.8 years

First QC Date

January 15, 2020

Last Update Submit

January 15, 2020

Conditions

Keywords

robotic rehabilitationtDCSnon-invasive brain stimulation

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • Reaching Accuracy

    Change in reaching accuracy as measured by initial direction error on robotic visually guided reaching task.

    change between pre-assessment (within 1 week of starting intervention) and post-assessment (within 1 week of completing intervention)

Secondary Outcomes (4)

  • Standardized robotic measures of motor and sensory performance

    change between pre-assessment (within 1 week of starting intervention) and post-assessment (within 1 week of completing intervention)

  • Assisting Hand Assessment

    change between pre-assessment (within 1 week of starting intervention) and post-assessment (within 1 week of completing intervention)

  • Box and Block Assessment

    change between pre-assessment (within 1 week of starting intervention) and post-assessment (within 1 week of completing intervention)

  • Purdue Pegboard

    change between pre-assessment (within 1 week of starting intervention) and post-assessment (within 1 week of completing intervention)

Study Arms (2)

Robot + tDCS

EXPERIMENTAL

10 sessions of 1.5 hrs of robotic therapy within a 3 week period, with 20 minutes of 1mA cathodal tDCS applied to the contralesional M1 area during first 20 minutes of robotic therapy. Robotic therapy will be conducted using the Kinarm Exoskeleton robot and use games to target unilateral and bilateral motor and sensory impairments.

Combination Product: Robot Rehabilitation + tDCS

Robot + sham tDCS

SHAM COMPARATOR

10 sessions of 1.5 hrs of robotic therapy within a 3 week period with 20 minutes of SHAM tDCS applied during the first 20 minutes of the robotic therapy. As with experimental arm, electrode will be placed on contralesional M1. Current will ramp up and then immediately ramp down to simulate the cutaneous sensations felt with actual tDCS. Robotic therapy will be delivered with Kinarm Exoskeleton robot and use games to target unilateral and bilateral motor and sensory impairments.

Behavioral: Robotic Rehabilitation + sham tDCS

Interventions

Robot Rehabilitation + tDCSCOMBINATION_PRODUCT

Robotic therapy with Kinarm Exoskeleton Robot and 1 mA cathodal tDCS applied to contralesional M1 for 20 minutes.

Robot + tDCS

Robotic therapy with Kinarm Exoskeleton Robot and sham tDCS.

Robot + sham tDCS

Eligibility Criteria

Age6 Years - 18 Years
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersNo
Age GroupsChild (0-17), Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

  • confirmed diagnosis of hemiparetic cerebral palsy due to unilateral perinatal stroke
  • age 6-18 years
  • Manual Ability Classification System (MACS) Level I-III
  • Modified Ashworth Score in shoulder and elbow \<=3;
  • Visual acuity (corrected) better than 20/50 in both eyes
  • able to follow instructions and comply with protocol;
  • able to give consent/assent;
  • able to commit to all assessment and intervention sessions.

You may not qualify if:

  • significant contractures in the upper extremity;
  • other neurological conditions or active medical disease;
  • unstable epilepsy;
  • contraindications to tDCS;
  • botulinum toxin A injections in the upper extremity in the past 6 months;
  • upper extremity surgical intervention in past 6 months;
  • involvement in another interventional study.

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

Alberta Children's Hospital

Calgary, Alberta, T3B 6A8, Canada

RECRUITING

Related Publications (1)

  • Raess L, Hawe RL, Metzler M, Zewdie E, Condliffe E, Dukelow SP, Kirton A. Robotic Rehabilitation and Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Children With Bilateral Cerebral Palsy. Front Rehabil Sci. 2022 Feb 25;3:843767. doi: 10.3389/fresc.2022.843767. eCollection 2022.

MeSH Terms

Interventions

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Electric Stimulation TherapyTherapeuticsConvulsive TherapyPsychiatric Somatic TherapiesBehavioral Disciplines and ActivitiesElectroshockPsychological Techniques

Study Officials

  • Sean P Dukelow, MD, PhD

    University of Calgary

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Rachel L Hawe, DPT, PhD

CONTACT

Sean P Dukelow, MD, PhD

CONTACT

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
phase 2
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
TRIPLE
Who Masked
PARTICIPANT, INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
Purpose
TREATMENT
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
PI Title
Associate Professor

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

January 15, 2020

First Posted

January 18, 2020

Study Start

March 25, 2019

Primary Completion

December 31, 2020

Study Completion

December 31, 2021

Last Updated

January 18, 2020

Record last verified: 2020-01

Locations