Robotic-assisted Therapy With Bilateral Practice Improves Task and Motor Performance of the Upper Extremity for Chronic Stroke Patients

Effects of Robotic-aided Therapy Combined With Bilateral Arm Training on Motor Performance and Electrophysiological Parameters of Upper Extremity for the Stroke Patients

Task-specific repetitive training, an usual care in occupational therapy practice, and robotic-aided rehabilitation with bilateral practice to improve limb's movement control has been popularised; however the difference in treatment effects between this two therapeutic strategies has been rarely described. The aim of the study was to compare the efficacy of robotic-assisted therapy with bilateral practice (RTBP) and usual care on task and motor performance for chronic stroke patients.

Inclusion Criteria:

• chronic stroke patients with unilateral cerebral infarction or hemorrhage and whose disease duration was more than six months following stroke
• no evidence of any other cerebral pathology in study screening CT scan
• a score for the Fugl-Meyer upper extremity motor assessment ranging from 23-53 corresponding to poor to notable arm-hand capacity
• pre stroke ability to speak the Chinese
• without any other possible somatic sensory impairment, no major cognitive-perceptual deficit based on the results of selective neuropsychological tests, such as the mini-mental state examination (MMSE) and Lowenstein occupational therapy cognitive assessment (LOTCA)
• premorbid right-handedness

Exclusion Criteria:

• less than six months following stroke
• CT shows multiple cerebral infarction or hemorrhage
• whose comprehension skills were insufficient to understand instructions
• individuals whose score of MMSE was lower than 24 or sub-item scores of visual perception, spatial perception, praxis, and visuomotor organization in LOTCA was lower than 8, 6, 6, and 14, respectively
• premorbid left-handedness