Motion Sensor and Feedback System Efficacy to Refine Movements After Injury

Efficacy of a Motion Sensor and Feedback System to Refine Movements of People With Acquired Neurological Injury: A Series of Case Studies

The purpose of these case studies is to determine the efficacy of the Kinesthetic Awareness Training (KAT) device in facilitating the restoration of desired movement patterns when people with acquired central nervous system damage perform functional activities such as walking, transitioning from one position to another, or reaching with the arms.

Study Overview

• Status: Enrolling by invitation
• Conditions: Stroke; Movement Disorders; Spinal Cord Injuries; Acquired Brain Injury
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Kinesthetic Awareness Training; Behavioral: Provision of KAT-assisted physical or occupational therapy

Detailed Description

People with acquired neurological disorders often exhibit impaired movement patterns when performing functional activities such as walking, standing up from a seated position, and reaching for objects. Re-establishing normal movement patterns is an essential part of rehabilitation; however, achievement of this typically requires thousands of accurate movement repetitions. Only through this repetition can a person benefit from the inherent neuroplasticity of the nervous system to make restored patterns habitual.

Sensory and/or proprioceptive problems may limit a person's awareness of ways in which abnormal movement patterns differ from desired ones. Because of these problems, provision of external feedback in the form of verbal comments, physical repositioning of the limbs by another person, or other auditory or haptic cues is critical. As a general rule, a person benefits most when provided with precise feedback about the position of body parts when he/she is actively engaged in performing a desired movement. As such, the linking of motion sensors programmed to detect achievement of a target position with immediate auditory (i.e., beeps) and/or haptic (i.e., vibrations) feedback has the potential to be a powerful treatment tool.

The Kinesthetic Awareness Training (KAT) device developed by PantherTec is a wearable, motion capture system that can be programmed to detect and provide immediate auditory and/or haptic feedback when a person moves a specified body part to a target position during performance of a functional sequence of movements. Each time a person replicates the desired movement, the device either begins emitting or ceases emitting beeps and/or vibrations-as specified during programming-to indicate achievement of the correct position. Adjustment of the sensitivity (i.e., margin of error per target value) allows for specification of how close a performed movement must be to the target position to elicit feedback.

PantherTec has made a prototype of the KAT device available to Quality Living, Inc. (QLI) for feasibility testing and exploration of possible applications with people with movement impairments resulting from acquired neurological injury. The purpose of the proposed case studies is to determine the efficacy of the KAT device in facilitating the restoration of desired movement patterns when people with acquired central nervous system damage perform functional activities such as walking, transitioning from one position to another, or reaching with the arms.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Anticipated): 20

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Karen Hux, Ph.D.; Phone Number: 402-574-2838; Email: karen.hux@qliomaha.com
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Megan Potter, DPT; Phone Number: 402-573-3700; Email: megan.potter@qliomaha.com

Study Locations

• United States
  • Nebraska
    • Omaha, Nebraska, United States, 68104
      • Quality Living, Inc.
      • Contact: Karen Hux, Ph.D.; Phone Number: 402-574-2838; Email: karen.hux@qliomaha.com
      • Contact: Megan Potter, DPT; Phone Number: 402-573-3700; Email: megan.potter@qliomaha.com
      • Principal Investigator: Karen Hux, Ph.D.
      • Sub-Investigator: Megan Potter, DPT

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 16 years to 70 years (Child, Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: N/A
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Current residents of Quality Living, Inc., who are receiving treatment for an acquired movement disorder.

Current staff of Quality Living, Inc., who are providing physical or occupational therapy treatment to a participant with an acquired movement disorder.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• For participants with movement disorders:

  • Between 16 and 70 years of age
  • Has an acquired movement disorder secondary to neurological injury
  • Understands English sufficiently to follow simple commands
  • Is a current resident of Quality Living, Inc.

• For professionals:

  • Over 19 years of age
  • A physical therapy or occupational therapy staff member employed by Quality Living, Inc.
  • Has used the KAT device to provide treatment to a participant with a movement disorder

Exclusion Criteria:

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

2

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
People with movement disorders; Adults with acquired movement disorders secondary to neurological injury.	Behavioral: Kinesthetic Awareness Training; One physical or occupational therapy session per week for 8 weeks during which the participant with disordered movement will attempt to perform desired movements while wearing the KAT device; Other Names: KAT
Professionals; Professionals providing physical or occupational therapy to participants with acquired movements disorders.	Behavioral: Provision of KAT-assisted physical or occupational therapy; Physical or occupational therapy professionals will provide one KAT-assisted therapy session per week for 8 weeks to one or more participants with movement disorder.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS) in rehabilitation	The GAS uses a 5-point rating scale to describe the extent of a participant's goal achievement. Scores for each attainment goal range from -2 (much worse than expected) to +2 (much better than expected). The composite GAS (the sum of attainment levels x the relative weight for each goal) is transformed into a standardized measure or T score with a mean of 50 and standard deviation of 10.	completion of 8-week treatment period
System Usability Scale (SUS)	The SUS is a feasibility rating scale for that will be used by professional participants to evaluate the KAT device. It includes 10 items with 5 response options ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Scores for odd-numbered items on the scale are calculated by subtracting 1 from the user's rating; scores for even-numbered items on the scale are calculated by subtracting the user's response from 5. This scales all values from 0 to 4, with four being the most positive response. Summing the converted scores and multiplying by 2.5 yields a score between 0 and 100, with 100 being the most positive score.	completion of 8-week treatment provision period

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: PantherTec
• Collaborators: Quality Living, Inc.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): December 17, 2021
• Primary Completion (Anticipated): September 1, 2024
• Study Completion (Anticipated): September 1, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 26, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 26, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): September 2, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 29, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 27, 2023
• Last Verified: March 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Treatment; efficacy
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Craniocerebral Trauma; Trauma, Nervous System; Spinal Cord Diseases; Brain Injuries; Wounds and Injuries; Spinal Cord Injuries; Movement Disorders
• Other Study ID Numbers: KAT

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