AI-based Physiotherapy for Oral Cancer Patients

March 30, 2026 updated by: National Taiwan University Hospital

Effects of AI-Based Physiotherapy on Mandibular Mobility, Shoulder Function, Whole-Body Physical Function, and Quality of Life in Oral Cancer Patients

This study examines the effects of AI-based physiotherapy on oral function, shoulder function, whole-body physical function, and quality of life in oral cancer patients. One hundred patients will be recruited before surgery, chemotherapy, or radiotherapy and randomly assigned to an experimental group receiving 12 weeks of AI-guided physiotherapy or a control group receiving usual care. Both groups will perform jaw, neck, and shoulder exercises, with the experimental group using a mobile app to monitor progress. Assessments at baseline, pre-intervention, and 3 months post-intervention will measure maximal in the maximum interincisal opening (MIO), joint range of motion (ROM), pain, endurance (e.g., 6-minute walk test), upper extremity function, and quality of life.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This study examines the effects of AI-based physiotherapy on oral function (e.g., mouth opening), shoulder function (e.g., shoulder joint range of motion and upper extremity function), whole-body physical function (e.g., 6-minute walk test), and health-related quality of life. 100 newly diagnosed oral cancer patients will be recruited before surgery, chemotherapy, or radiotherapy and randomly assigned to two groups. The experimental group will receive AI-based physiotherapy for 12 weeks, including postural correction exercises guided by AI technology, while the control group will receive usual care. Both groups will perform jaw, neck, and shoulder exercises, with the experimental group using a mobile app to monitor progress and record their exercise diaries. Assessments at baseline, pre-intervention, and 3 months post-intervention will measure the maximum interincisal opening (MIO), joint range of motion (ROM), pain, endurance, and upper extremity function using the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) scores, and quality of life using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Core Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30).

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

100

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

Study Locations

  • Taiwan
      • Taipei, Taiwan
        • Recruiting
        • National Taiwan University Hospital
        • Contact:
          • Yueh-Hsia Chen, PhD
      • Taipei, Taiwan
        • Not yet recruiting
        • Taipei Veterans General Hospital
        • Contact:
          • Muh-Hwa Yang, PhD

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Newly diagnosed oral cancer patients who are scheduled to receive cancer-related treatments (e.g., oral cancer surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or chemoradiotherapy).
  • Age between 20 and 65 years.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Could not communicate.
  • Had any disorder that could influence movement performance.

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: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Control group
Usual care
Behavioral: Scar management
scar massage and jaw-mobilizing exercises combined with devices or depressors
Behavioral: Conventional physiotherapy
jaw, neck, shoulder ROM exercises, and scapular-focused exercises, 30 minutes of intervention, once a week, and a total of 12 weeks
Experimental: Experimental group
AI-based physiotherapy
Behavioral: AI-based physiotherapy
jaw, neck, shoulder ROM exercises, and scapular-focused exercises guided by AI technology, 30 minutes of intervention, once a week, and a total of 12 weeks
Behavioral: Scar management
scar massage and jaw-mobilizing exercises combined with devices or depressors

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change from baseline in maximal mouth opening
Time Frame: baseline, pre-intervention, 3-months post-intervention
Average maximal mouth opening measured 3 times in mm
baseline, pre-intervention, 3-months post-intervention
Change from baseline in shoulder joint range of motion
Time Frame: baseline, pre-intervention, 3-months post-intervention
Average range of motion of shoulder abduction measured 3 times in degrees
baseline, pre-intervention, 3-months post-intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change from baseline in function on Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand outcome questionnaire
Time Frame: baseline, pre-intervention, 3-months post-intervention
A total scale from 1 to 100. Higher scores indicate greater disability.
baseline, pre-intervention, 3-months post-intervention
Change from baseline in health-related function on EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire
Time Frame: baseline, pre-intervention, 3-months post-intervention
A total scale from 1 to 100. Higher scores indicate greater function.
baseline, pre-intervention, 3-months post-intervention
Change from baseline in whole-body physical function on 6-minute walk test
Time Frame: baseline, pre-intervention, 3-months post-intervention
Walking distance measured in meters.
baseline, pre-intervention, 3-months post-intervention
Change from baseline in shoulder pain
Time Frame: baseline, pre-intervention, 3-months post-intervention
Visual analog scale from 0 to 10. Higher scores indicate most pain.
baseline, pre-intervention, 3-months post-intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

National Taiwan University Hospital

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Yueh-Hsia Chen, PhD, National Taiwan University, College of Medicine

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.

General Publications

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)

February 19, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

July 31, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

July 31, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 15, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 15, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

January 20, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

April 3, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 30, 2026

Last Verified

December 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 202411044RINC

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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