Upper-Limb Robot-Assisted Therapy Based on Visual Error Augmentation in Virtual Reality for Motor Recovery and Kinematics after Chronic Hemiparetic Stroke: A Feasibility Study

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of upper-limb robot-assisted therapy based on visual error augmentation in virtual reality (UL-RAT-VEAVR) for motor recovery and kinematics after chronic hemiparetic stroke. This study applied a single-group pre- and post-intervention study design. A total of 27 stroke survivors (20 males and 7 females; mean age 54.51 years, mean onset duration 12.7 months) volunteered to participate in this study. UL-RAT-VEAVR was performed three times a week for four weeks, amounting to a total of twelve sessions, in which an end-effector-based robotic arm was used with a visual display environment in virtual reality. Each subject performed a total of 480 point-to-point movements toward 3 direction targets (medial, ipsilateral, and contralateral side) in the visual display environment system while holding the handle of the end-effector-based robotic arm. The visual error (distance to the targets on the monitor) in virtual reality was increased by 5% every week based on the subject’s maximum point-to-point reaching trajectory. Upper-limb motor recovery was measured in all subjects using the Fugl–Meyer Assessment (FMA) upper-limb subscale, the Box and Block Test (BBT), and the Action Research Arm Test (ARAT), before and after training. In addition, a kinematic assessment was also performed before and after training and consisted of time, speed, distance, and curvilinear ratio for point-to-point movement. There were significant improvements in both upper-limb motor function and kinematics after 4 weeks of UL-RAT-VEAVR (p < 0.05). Our results showed that the UL-RAT-VEAVR may have the potential to be used as one of the upper-limb rehabilitation strategies in chronic stroke survivors. Future studies should investigate the clinical effects of the error-augmentation paradigm using an RCT design.