Sonic Sleeve (v 0.1)

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    Sonic Sleeve: Reducing Compensatory Movements in Stroke Rehabilitation with the Aid of Auditory Feedback

  • IRAS ID

    251741

  • Contact name

    Pedro Douglass-Kirk

  • Contact email

    mu101pk@gold.ac.uk

  • Sponsor organisation

    Mr

  • ISRCTN Number

    ISRCTN12969079

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    1 years, 6 months, 1 days

  • Research summary

    Stroke is leading cause of adult disability and rehabilitation of the upper limb is currently inadequate. Stroke survivors with hemiplegia (a weakness down one half of their body) often struggle to undertake tasks of daily living such as cooking and dressing.

    Digital technologies are becoming more widely available for stroke rehabilitation and may not only help take pressure off NHS staff but provide useful aids for self-management. The use of sensory feedback has been somewhat explored and several authors note the versatility of the auditory domain in particular to provide feedback on upper limb movements.
    However, despite these efforts to investigate the potential for digital approaches to provide feedback in rehabilitation, this line of research is limited when applied to tackling the undesirable compensatory movements that often accompany goal-directed movements in stroke patients.

    The study aims to reduce compensatory movement patterns with the aid of auditory feedback. The primary question is: Can stroke patients perceive and make use of auditory feedback (muting within self-selected music) to reduce compensatory movements in a seated active forward reaching task? This question will be investigated in two phases. Phase 1 will establish if patients can make use of the feedback and reduce compensation (trunk leaning, shoulder abduction or shoulder elevation). The second phase will investigate whether training with this feedback will promote learning such that reduced compensation will also be seen in the absence of auditory feedback.

    The study will be undertaken at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery and patients from the upper limb programme will be invited to take part providing they have had a stroke and are suitable to undertake active forward reaching movements.

  • REC name

    London - Dulwich Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    19/LO/0579

  • Date of REC Opinion

    5 Jun 2019

  • REC opinion

    Further Information Favourable Opinion