EFFECTS OF ROBOTIC TRAINING ON VASCULAR HEALTH OF INDIVIDUALS WITH SCI

October 1, 2018 updated by: University of Winchester

EFFECTS OF ROBOTIC-ASSISTED GAIT TRAINING ON THE VASCULAR HEALTH OF INDIVIDUALS WITH SPINAL CORD INJURY

Robotic devices may be used to help the gait and balance of individuals with Spinal Cord Injury (SCI). However, as such devices may allow individuals to engage in physical activity in an upright position, there may be significant benefit on the vascular health of patients with SCI. This study will assess the effect of a robotic-assisted gait-training (exoskeleton) program on central and peripheral hemodynamic markers in people with SCI.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) have an accelerated trajectory of aging in the cardiovascular system compared with same-age individuals in the general population,and accordingly, have a higher rate of cardiovascular mortality. For example, SCI is significantly associated with an increased risk of heart disease (odds ratio = 2.72) and stroke (odds ratio = 3.72).This is at least partially attributed to their impaired blood pressure regulation as a consequence of the autonomic nervous system dysfunction, physical inactivity and increased sedentary time. As such, there is a pressing need to identify practical strategies for increasing physical activity and decreasing sedentary time.

Robotic-assisted gait training (RGT) is used in the rehabilitation of patients with SCI, although individual access is often limited and infrequent. Task-specific stepping practice enhances the afferent feedback associated with normal locomotion and can induce plasticity in the involved motor centers. As RGT enables practitioners to increase the intensity and total duration of physical activity whilst maintaining a physiological gait pattern, there may be significant benefit for people with SCI to manage their risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). This may be evident if an individual with SCI has regular and continued access to such technology. However, there is a paucity of research which has considered the vascular benefit of implementing robotic-assisted training for people with SCI as most research focuses on outcome measures such as gait velocity, gait distance, leg strength, balance and spasticity.Further, while this technology may be practical in terms of application, the cost is currently prohibitive. Thus, prior to advocating resource intensive longitudinal randomized control trials, there's a need for short-term trials using established measures of cardiovascular health.

The purpose of this study is to assess the effect of a RGT (exoskeleton) program on central and peripheral hemodynamic markers in people with SCI.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

12

Phase

  • 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

    • Hampshire
      • Winchester, Hampshire, United Kingdom, SO22 4NR
        • Centre for Sport

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

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • SCI diagnosis
  • Meet the manufacturer's guidelines with regards to weight (< 100 kg) and height (between 1.57 m and 1.93 m).
  • Standing at least three times a week with therapist support
  • SCI classified according to the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) scale, as either ASIA A (Complete SCI), ASIA B (Sensory incomplete SCI), ASIA C (Motor incomplete SCI)

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Restricted range of motion in their lower limbs
  • Uncontrolled high levels of muscle spasticity
  • Significant problems managing their blood pressure,
  • Any concerns with their bone density (e.g., osteoporosis, etc.).

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: Basic Science
  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Control
Participants will engage in daily physiotherapy sessions (without the exoskeleton) and/or home-based sit-to-stand exercises
Experimental: Ekso Group
Daily use of an exoskeleton (robotic-device) on 5 successive days as well as daily physiotherapy sessions

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Augmentation index
Time Frame: Assessed at Baseline and Through study completion (1 week after baseline).
Measured on the left, upper arm, in duplicate and following a 20 minute supine rest using a SphygmoCor XCEL.
Assessed at Baseline and Through study completion (1 week after baseline).

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Central Blood pressure
Time Frame: Assessed at Baseline and Through study completion (1 week after baseline).
Measured on the left, upper arm, in duplicate and following a 20 minute supine rest using a SphygmoCor XCEL.
Assessed at Baseline and Through study completion (1 week after baseline).
Change in Peripheral blood pressure
Time Frame: Assessed at Baseline and Through study completion (1 week after baseline).
Measured on the left, upper arm, in duplicate and following a 20 minute supine rest using a SphygmoCor XCEL.
Assessed at Baseline and Through study completion (1 week after baseline).

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Collaborators

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

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)

August 10, 2018

Primary Completion (Actual)

September 28, 2018

Study Completion (Actual)

September 28, 2018

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 28, 2018

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 26, 2018

First Posted (Actual)

August 2, 2018

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

October 2, 2018

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 1, 2018

Last Verified

October 1, 2018

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • Faulkner_Ekso_SCI

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.