Interactive Robot-Guided Exercise Program for Cancer-Related Fatigue

September 9, 2026 updated by: Tsai-Wei Huang, Taipei Medical University

Using an Interactive Kebbi Robot to Develop an Exercise Program for Cancer-Related Fatigue: Assessing Its Effectiveness

The goal of this study is to learn whether an exercise program guided by an interactive robot can help reduce tiredness in people with cancer. This kind of tiredness, called cancer-related fatigue, is common during cancer treatment and can make everyday activities harder.

People who take part in the exercise program will do sessions guided by the robot. Before and after each session, the study team checks things like heart rate, breathing rate, and blood pressure, and asks about tiredness and other symptoms.

Family members and nurses who help patients use the robot are also asked to share their views on how well the robot's teaching materials hold their attention and help them feel confident and satisfied.

Everyone who joins the exercise part of the study receives the same robot-guided program. There is no separate group that skips the robot program.

Study Overview

Detailed Description

Cancer-related fatigue is one of the most common and distressing symptoms experienced by patients undergoing cancer treatment, often persisting despite rest and negatively affecting daily function and quality of life. Exercise is a recommended non-pharmacological strategy to help manage this symptom, but adherence to conventional exercise programs among cancer patients is often limited.

This study develops and evaluates an exercise teaching program delivered through an interactive robot (Kebbi) for cancer patients treated at Taipei Medical University-affiliated Wanfang Hospital. The robot guides participants through a structured exercise routine. Physiological parameters (heart rate, respiratory rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure) are recorded immediately before and after exercise sessions, and patient-reported fatigue and symptom burden are assessed repeatedly over the course of the intervention period.

In addition to the patient cohort, family caregivers and nursing staff who interact with the robot-based teaching materials are invited to evaluate the instructional design of the materials, focusing on their ability to engage attention, demonstrate relevance, build confidence, and achieve satisfaction.

This is a single-group study; all enrolled patients receive the robot-guided exercise program, and outcomes are compared within participants before versus after the intervention. No randomization or control group is used.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

46

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

      • Taipei, Taiwan
        • Wanfang Hospital

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:

  • Age 20 years or older
  • Confirmed diagnosis of cancer, currently receiving anticancer treatment at Taipei Municipal Wanfang Hospital
  • Presence of cancer-related fatigue (self-reported or clinically assessed)
  • Sufficient cognitive and physical function to participate in a robot-guided, low-to-moderate intensity exercise program
  • Willing and able to provide informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Severe cognitive impairment or communication barriers preventing comprehension of study instructions
  • Unstable cardiopulmonary or hemodynamic status contraindicating exercise
  • Bedridden or physical performance status precluding participation in basic exercise movements

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: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Robot-Guided Exercise Group
Cancer patients receiving the interactive robot (Kebbi)-guided exercise program. Vital signs, fatigue, and symptom burden are assessed before and after sessions.
A structured exercise program delivered and guided by an interactive robot (Kebbi), designed to help manage cancer-related fatigue.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Cancer-Related Fatigue Severity
Time Frame: Baseline (prior to intervention) through completion of the intervention (up to 5 days), assessed up to three times daily during the intervention period
Fatigue severity assessed using the Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI), a self-reported measure with items rated from 0 (no fatigue) to 10 (fatigue as bad as you can imagine). Higher scores indicate greater fatigue severity.
Baseline (prior to intervention) through completion of the intervention (up to 5 days), assessed up to three times daily during the intervention period

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Symptom Burden
Time Frame: Baseline (prior to intervention) and immediately after completion of the intervention (up to 5 days)
Symptom burden assessed using the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS), which rates the severity of multiple symptoms (e.g., pain, tiredness, drowsiness, nausea, appetite) on a 0-10 scale. Higher scores indicate greater symptom severity.
Baseline (prior to intervention) and immediately after completion of the intervention (up to 5 days)
Change in Heart Rate
Time Frame: Immediately before and immediately after each exercise session, up to 4 sessions within the 5-day intervention period
Heart rate (beats per minute) measured immediately before and immediately after each exercise session.
Immediately before and immediately after each exercise session, up to 4 sessions within the 5-day intervention period
Change in Respiratory Rate
Time Frame: Immediately before and immediately after each exercise session, up to 4 sessions within the 5-day intervention period
Respiratory rate (breaths per minute) measured immediately before and immediately after each exercise session.
Immediately before and immediately after each exercise session, up to 4 sessions within the 5-day intervention period
Change in Systolic Blood Pressure
Time Frame: Immediately before and immediately after each exercise session, up to 4 sessions within the 5-day intervention period
Systolic blood pressure (mmHg) measured immediately before and immediately after each exercise session.
Immediately before and immediately after each exercise session, up to 4 sessions within the 5-day intervention period
Change in Diastolic Blood Pressure
Time Frame: Immediately before and immediately after each exercise session, up to 4 sessions within the 5-day intervention period
Diastolic blood pressure (mmHg) measured immediately before and immediately after each exercise session.
Immediately before and immediately after each exercise session, up to 4 sessions within the 5-day intervention period

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this 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 13, 2024

Primary Completion (Actual)

September 10, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

September 10, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 4, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 9, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

September 15, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

September 15, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 9, 2026

Last Verified

July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • ROBOT_education_N202407020
  • TMU-JIRB (Other Identifier: TMU-JIRB)

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

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.

Subscribe