Virtual Reality Mirror Therapy for Those With Acquired Brain Injury: A Clinical Pilot Study

May 3, 2016 updated by: Laura MacNeil, University of Guelph
The goal of this study is to investigate the effects of virtual reality based mirror therapy (VMT) on individuals with acquired brain injury when compared to a control group receiving traditional mirror therapy (TMT). This is a randomized controlled pilot study in which patients with hemiplegia will be assigned to VMT or TMT and the impact on upper extremity function will be observed.

Study Overview

Status

Unknown

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The investigators are currently running a mirror therapy pilot project in the Hamilton Health Sciences Rehabilitation Program. Mirror therapy has been successfully used with people that have injuries such as strokes or other types of brain injuries that affect movement on one side of their body. Mirror therapy involves placing a mirror over the affected limb and angling it to reflect the unaffected limb. This creates a visual illusion that moving the unaffected limb also results in movement in the affected limb. This is theorized to aid recovery of the motor system in the brain. Virtual Reality (VR) can also be used with people with strokes and brain injuries and many studies of VR have shown positive results. In this study, the investigators will combine VR and mirror therapy. The investigators have designed a special new system that uses VR headset to make it appear that both limbs are moving when only the unaffected limb is moving. The investigators are going to do this by having people complete virtual tasks wearing this specially programmed headset. The tasks are everyday activities that a person might perform using two hands. Ultimately, the investigators hope to determine whether there is any difference between VR mirror therapy and regular mirror therapy in improving upper limb function.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Anticipated)

30

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 Contact

  • Name: Denise Johnson, BHSc(PT)
  • Phone Number: (905)521-2100
  • Email: johnsden@hhsc.ca

Study Contact Backup

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

16 years to 65 years (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT, CHILD)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • diagnosis of stroke or brain injury, including ischemic or hemorrhagic strokes, confirmed by radio logical evidence and evidence suggesting injury primarily to one side and exhibited by hemiplegia
  • their post injury time is between 2 weeks and 2 years
  • patients are between the age of 16 and 65 years old

Exclusion Criteria:

  • greater than stage 4 on the CMSA
  • behavioral impairments that may prevent safe or consistent participation

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: TREATMENT
  • Allocation: RANDOMIZED
  • Interventional Model: PARALLEL
  • Masking: DOUBLE

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
EXPERIMENTAL: Experimental Group
Patients receiving Virtual Reality Mirror Therapy
Device: Virtual Reality Mirror Therapy
Virtual Reality Mirror Therapy system using occulus rift as virtual headset and kinect as motion tracking sensor.
Other Names:
  • VMT
  • Occulus Rift
  • Microsoft Kinect
EXPERIMENTAL: Control Group
Patients receiving Traditional Mirror Therapy
Procedure: Traditional Mirror Therapy
Traditional Mirror Therapy system consisting of a mirror in which patients view their healthy limb over the affected to trick brain during dual motion tasks. This therapy has been shown to improve upper extremity function in patients with acquired brain injury.
Other Names:
  • Mirror Therapy

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Upper Extremity Function
Time Frame: 6-weeks
To measure subjects upper extremity function via assessment scores pre and post treatment.
6-weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Upper Extremity Range of Motion
Time Frame: 6-weeks
Arm position data recorded through the VR systems measured in millimeters.
6-weeks

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Mean Average Response Time
Time Frame: 6-weeks
Mean average response time to complete tasks measured in seconds.
6-weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University of Guelph

Collaborators

Hamilton Health Sciences Corporation
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, Canada

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Hussein Abdullah, PhD, University of Guelph

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

June 1, 2016

Primary Completion (ANTICIPATED)

June 1, 2019

Study Completion (ANTICIPATED)

June 1, 2019

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 28, 2016

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 3, 2016

First Posted (ESTIMATE)

May 4, 2016

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (ESTIMATE)

May 4, 2016

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 3, 2016

Last Verified

May 1, 2016

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 1227

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

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.

Clinical Trials on Acquired Brain Injury Including Stroke

Clinical Trials on Virtual Reality Mirror Therapy

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

CROs by country

CROs in Mauritius

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

3
Subscribe