Virtual Reality in Aphasia Rehabilitation

The Virtual Reality Rises; The Fall of The Aphasia

Virtual reality-based aphasia rehabilitation has been shown to improve the language skills of individuals with aphasia in the chronic period after stroke. However, non-immersive or semi-immersive rehabilitation methods have often been adopted in the studies. Considering the importance of the visual given to the patient for naming, it can be thought that full immersive therapy may be more effective. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of cue-based aphasia naming therapy in a fully immersive virtual reality environment on aphasia severity and aphasia-related quality of life and to compare it with standard cue treatments.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Aphasia; Stroke, Ischemic
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Cue-based speech therapy in virtual reality; Other: Cue-based speech therapy

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 102
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Turkey
  • Merkez
    • Bolu, Merkez, Turkey, 14100
      • Faculty of Health Sciences Bolu Abant Izzet Baysal University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Diagnosed with non-fluent aphasia by a neurologist
• at least 4 months after stroke
• A score of 29 and above on the language score sub-item of the GAT scale

Exclusion Criteria:

• severe sensory impairments (vision, hearing) that prevent participation in therapies
• severe motor dysfunction
• apraxia
• neglect
• dementia
• psychiatric disorders
• 3D vision problems

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Virtual Reality Group; visual and auditory cue-based aphasia rehabilitation program in full immersive virtual reality	Other: Cue-based speech therapy in virtual reality; Treatment applied with virtual reality headsets to provide 3d visual and auditory cues to individuals in a virtual environment. A treatment environment where the provision of cues can be controlled by the therapist, interacting with 3d clues and receiving feedback on the accuracy of the named objects.
Active Comparator: Conventional Group; visual and auditory cue-based aphasia rehabilitation program	Other: Cue-based speech therapy; Treatment involving the assessment of language skills and the presentation of communication strategies to the individual, including the use of personalized phonological cues.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Gülhane Aphasia Test	Gülhane Aphasia Test-2 (GAT-2) was used to assess aphasia severity. GAT-2 is a valid and reliable test developed by Maviş et al. to evaluate aphasia and to obtain information about motor speech disorders such as dysarthria and apraxia that may accompany aphasia. The GAT-2 consists of 7 subsections: speech fluency, listening comprehension, reading comprehension, oral-motor evaluation, automatic speech, repetition and naming. A maximum total score of 82 can be obtained and higher scores are associated with better speech function.	through study completion, an average of 1 year

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Stroke and Aphasia Quality of Life Scale-39 (SAQOL-39)	It is a 39-item valid and reliable scale used to assess quality of life in individuals with aphasia, which examines 4 sub-headings: physical, psychosocial, communication and energy. In 21 items of the scale, the difficulties experienced by individuals with aphasia in their activities in the last week are evaluated, and in the other 18 items, the emotional reactions and possible problems experienced by individuals in the last week are questioned.	through study completion, an average of 1 year

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Abant Izzet Baysal University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Ramazan Kurul, Ph.D, Abant Izzet Baysal University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 15, 2021
• Primary Completion (Actual): July 1, 2023
• Study Completion (Actual): September 15, 2023

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 29, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 29, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): January 10, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): January 10, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 29, 2023
• Last Verified: December 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Cardiovascular Diseases; Vascular Diseases; Cerebrovascular Disorders; Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Neurologic Manifestations; Neurobehavioral Manifestations; Stroke; Language Disorders; Communication Disorders; Speech Disorders; Ischemic Stroke; Aphasia
• Other Study ID Numbers: AIBU-FTR-BENLI-006

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