User Evaluation of a Dynamic Arm Orthosis for People With Neuromuscular Disorders.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Gunn M
PROVIDER: S-EPMC6521000 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Dec
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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User Evaluation of a Dynamic Arm Orthosis for People With Neuromuscular Disorders.
Gunn Margaret M Shank Tracy M TM Eppes Marissa M Hossain Jobayer J Rahman Tariq T
IEEE transactions on neural systems and rehabilitation engineering : a publication of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society 20151026 12
This paper presents the results of an online survey conducted with users of a functional upper extremity orthosis called the Wilmington Robotic EXoskeleton (WREX). The WREX is a passive anti-gravity arm orthosis that allows people with neuromuscular disabilities to move their arms in three dimensions. The paper also describes the design of a novel lightweight 3-D printed WREX used for ambulatory children. Three different versions of the WREX are now offered to patients. Two can be mounted on a w ...[more]
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Project description:BackgroundDynamic hand orthosis may help upper limb recovery by keeping the wrist and hand in an optimal position while executing a grasp. Our aim was to investigate the feasibility of combining a dynamic hand orthosis with task-oriented upper limb practice after stroke.MethodFifteen adult stroke survivors were recruited in a single-group, pre-post intervention study. They received 12 weeks of task-oriented upper limb training with a dynamic hand orthosis with 3 weeks supervised at a community rehabilitation unit followed by 9 weeks unsupervised at home. Feasibility was determined by recruitment (proportion of eligible/enrolled and enrolled/retained participants), intervention (adherence, acceptability, and safety) and measurement (time taken to collect outcomes and proportion of participants where all measures were collected). Clinical outcomes were measured at baseline (Week 0), end of Week 3 and Week 12.ResultsFifteen (46%) of eligible volunteers were enrolled in the study. Eight (53%) of those enrolled completed the 12-week intervention. Eighty eight percent were satisfied or very satisfied with the dynamic hand orthosis. Clinical measures were collected for all participants at baseline and in all those who completed the intervention but often took over one hour to complete. At 12 weeks, participants had improved by 7 points out of 57 (95% CI 2 to 13) on the ARAT and by 8 points out of 66 (95% CI 0 to 15) on the FMA-UE.ConclusionThe intervention appears to be feasible in terms of acceptability and safety, while recruitment and measurement need further consideration. The magnitude of the clinical outcomes suggests that the intervention has a potential to improve both upper limb activity and impairment, and this study provides useful information for the design of a pilot randomized trial.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03396939.
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Project description: Not available
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