Robotic Pedaling Therapy for Targeted Neural Plasticity

October 3, 2023 updated by: University of Wisconsin, Madison
The aim of this Pilot study is to determine whether robotically targeted lower-limb pedaling therapy can increase the extent of stroke recovery on behavioral measures and induce brain plasticity as measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Forty (40) adult stroke patients and 80 healthy controls will be enrolled in this study. Of the 40 patients, half will be randomly assigned to the robotically-targeted training ("robotic") group and will receive training on the targeted training task. The other half of the patients will perform a duration-matched aerobic pedaling exercise ("control" group). All stroke patients will be scanned before and after their training program while performing or imagining simple motor tasks. Behavioral assessments of motor and cognitive capacities will be collected at each timepoint. Healthy control subjects enrolled for device testing (20) will receive up to 5 training sessions in a modified robotic paradigm and 1 fMRI scan, in order to investigate motor learning and brain activity in a novel motor control task. Additional healthy pilot subjects (up to 60) will test training protocols and assessments during preparatory design phases of the project.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Terminated

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
44

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Wisconsin
      • Madison, Wisconsin, United States, 53706
        • University of Wisconsin, Madison

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 85 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Patients:

Inclusion criteria:

  • Subjects will be stroke patients with persistent moderate unilateral lower extremity deficits, age 50-85 years at time of enrollment.
  • Time since stroke will be greater than 6 months ("chronic" stroke survivors).
  • Persistent moderate unilateral lower-limb impairment (defined as NIH Stroke Scale - Motor Leg section score of 1-2, to be discussed with the patient verbally during phone screening and assessed by the investigator during the initial enrollment visit).
  • Fluent in spoken and written English

Exclusion criteria:

  • Allergy to electrode gel, surgical tape and metals.
  • Subjects under treatment for infectious diseases will be excluded from the study.
  • Women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant during the course of the study will be excluded.
  • Contraindications for MRI
  • Age over 85 years at time of enrollment.

Healthy Controls:

Inclusion criteria:

  • Ages 18-85 years
  • Non-Stroke Group 1 ("Matched Controls"): 50-85 years old at time of enrollment, to match the population of stroke patients to be studied
  • Non-Stroke Group 2 ("Pilot Controls"): 18-50 years old at time of enrollment (Pilot subjects to be initially enrolled early in the design phase of the study, and with enrollment ongoing throughout the study to continue development.)
  • No known neurologic, psychiatric or developmental disability.
  • Fluent in spoken and written English

Exclusion criteria:

  • Allergy to electrode gel, surgical tape, and metals.
  • Subjects under treatment for infectious diseases will be excluded from the study.
  • Women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant during the course of the study will be excluded.
  • Contraindications for MRI
  • Age over 85 years at time of enrollment.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Other: Non-Stroke Pilot Group
Robotic therapy. Aerobic therapy. Subjects without stroke, pilot subjects tested during early phases while the device and therapeutic task specifications are developed, and throughout the project while the device and tasks are refined.
Device: Robotic therapy
The "Robotic" group will use a robotic training protocol to incentivize recovery of motor control by changing task demands throughout the training period. One or more target tasks will be chosen to mimic different sub-functions of gait, including some which are not normally excited in typical cycling behavior. Also, tasks may be designed to target non-gait motions such as hip ab/adduction. The required task may be changed periodically. This therapy protocol will occupy 30 minutes of each training session. Prior to testing, EMG electrodes will be placed on the major muscles of both legs, a procedure that takes roughly 15 minutes. Another 15 minutes is for changing clothes, briefing the subject, and other ancillary study activities. The total time per training session is 1 hour.
Device: Aerobic therapy
The Control group protocol is identical to that of the Robotic group, except the robotically-incentivized exercise is replaced with an aerobic exercise. This intervention emulates a commercial motorized exercise bike to improve cardiovascular unfitness contributions to gait impairment. This therapy implements assist-as-needed and constant-velocity control. The patient's target pedaling speed (e.g. 20 rev/min (to be finalized through pilot tests) and power level (set by heart rate to require approximately 50-70% of maximal oxygen uptake) are set at the beginning of each session and a motor provides assistance or resistance to compensate for the performance of the patient. The exercise will be performed in this mode for 30 minutes per training session.
Other: Non-Stroke Comparison Group
Robotic therapy. Healthy controls enrolled (age 50-85) to contribute to a normative data set on motor learning using the robotic protocols designed for stroke.
Device: Robotic therapy
The "Robotic" group will use a robotic training protocol to incentivize recovery of motor control by changing task demands throughout the training period. One or more target tasks will be chosen to mimic different sub-functions of gait, including some which are not normally excited in typical cycling behavior. Also, tasks may be designed to target non-gait motions such as hip ab/adduction. The required task may be changed periodically. This therapy protocol will occupy 30 minutes of each training session. Prior to testing, EMG electrodes will be placed on the major muscles of both legs, a procedure that takes roughly 15 minutes. Another 15 minutes is for changing clothes, briefing the subject, and other ancillary study activities. The total time per training session is 1 hour.
Experimental: Robotic Training Group
Robotic therapy. Subjects with Stroke who will perform the targeted training task: exercise using novel tasks on a robotic recumbent cycle.
Device: Robotic therapy
The "Robotic" group will use a robotic training protocol to incentivize recovery of motor control by changing task demands throughout the training period. One or more target tasks will be chosen to mimic different sub-functions of gait, including some which are not normally excited in typical cycling behavior. Also, tasks may be designed to target non-gait motions such as hip ab/adduction. The required task may be changed periodically. This therapy protocol will occupy 30 minutes of each training session. Prior to testing, EMG electrodes will be placed on the major muscles of both legs, a procedure that takes roughly 15 minutes. Another 15 minutes is for changing clothes, briefing the subject, and other ancillary study activities. The total time per training session is 1 hour.
Active Comparator: Aerobic Training Group
Aerobic therapy. Subjects with Stroke who will perform aerobic pedaling, duration-matched to the Robotic group.
Device: Aerobic therapy
The Control group protocol is identical to that of the Robotic group, except the robotically-incentivized exercise is replaced with an aerobic exercise. This intervention emulates a commercial motorized exercise bike to improve cardiovascular unfitness contributions to gait impairment. This therapy implements assist-as-needed and constant-velocity control. The patient's target pedaling speed (e.g. 20 rev/min (to be finalized through pilot tests) and power level (set by heart rate to require approximately 50-70% of maximal oxygen uptake) are set at the beginning of each session and a motor provides assistance or resistance to compensate for the performance of the patient. The exercise will be performed in this mode for 30 minutes per training session.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Six Minute Walk Test (6MWT) Distance
Time Frame: Baseline and at 5 weeks
A simple series of laps along a 30 m straight path in a level hallway.
Baseline and at 5 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Timed Up-and-Go Test (TUG)
Time Frame: Baseline and at 5 weeks
A simple timed test of how long it takes to stand up, walk 10 feet, turn around, return to the starting point, and sit down.
Baseline and at 5 weeks
Change in Self-Selected Walking Speed (SSWS)
Time Frame: Baseline and at 5 weeks
A simple test of the speed a person chooses to walk over a 5-meter distance
Baseline and at 5 weeks
Change in Fastest Comfortable Walking Speed (FCWS)
Time Frame: Baseline and at 5 weeks
A similar test of the "fastest comfortable speed" a person can use to walk over the 5-meter distance
Baseline and at 5 weeks
Change in Center of Pressure (COP) Characteristics
Time Frame: Baseline and at 5 weeks
Movement of the Center of Pressure during standing, with eyes open and eyes closed. With eyes open, subjects focus their eyes on a spot on the wall in front of them. Metrics of COP control include excursion, average velocity, standard deviation, and an estimate of center of mass location.
Baseline and at 5 weeks
Change in Brain Activity in and Near Affected Areas, Through Functional MRI (fMRI)
Time Frame: Baseline and at 5 weeks
fMRI scans will be used to measure task-specific cortical activity in sensorimotor areas during physical stepping with an MRI-compatible stepping machine, or imagined/visualized cycling.
Baseline and at 5 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of Wisconsin, Madison

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS)

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Peter G Adamczyk, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, Madison

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
June 1, 2019

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
June 29, 2022

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
June 29, 2022

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
June 12, 2017

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 27, 2017

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
October 3, 2017

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
October 5, 2023

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
October 3, 2023

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
October 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 2016-1279
  • 4UL1TR000427-10 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)
  • A196200 (Other Identifier: UW Madison)
  • ENGR\MECHANICAL ENGR (Other Identifier: UW Madison)
  • Protocol Version 1.8, 3/2017 (Other Identifier: UW Madison)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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