Effects of Home-Based Robotic Therapy Involving the Single-Joint Hybrid Assistive Limb Robotic Suit in the Chronic Phase of Stroke: A Pilot Study

INTRODUCTION: Robotic therapy has drawn attention in the rehabilitation field including home-based rehabilitation. A previous study has reported that home-based therapy could be more effective for increasing upper limb activity than facility-based therapy. The single-joint hybrid assistive limb (HAL-SJ) is an exoskeleton robot developed according to the interactive biofeedback theory, and several studies have shown its effectiveness for upper limb function in stroke patients. A study of home-based robotic therapy has shown to enhance rehabilitation effectiveness for stroke patient with a paretic upper limb. However, home-based therapy involving a HAL-SJ in stroke patients with paretic upper limbs has not been investigated. The present study aimed to investigate paretic upper limb activity and function with home-based robotic therapy involving a HAL-SJ in stroke patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A home-based robotic therapy program involving a HAL-SJ was performed for 30 min per session followed by standard therapy for 30 min per session, 2 times a week, for 4 weeks (i.e., completion of all 8 sessions involved 8 h of rehabilitation), at home. After the intervention, patients were followed up by telephone and home visits for 8 weeks. The paretic upper limb activity and function were assessed using the Motor Activity Log (MAL; amount of use (AOU)), arm triaxial accelerometry (laterality index (LI)), the Fugl–Meyer assessment (FMA), and the action research arm test (ARAT), at baseline and week 4 and week 12 after the start of training. RESULTS: The study included 10 stroke patients (5 men; mean age, 61.1 ± 7.1 years). The AOU scores and LI significantly improved at week 4 after the start of training (p<0.05). However, no significant changes were observed in the LI at week 12 (p=0.161) and the FMA scores at both week 4 and week 12 (p=0.059 and p=0.083, respectively). The ARAT scores significantly improved at both week 4 and week 12 (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Home-based robotic therapy combined with conventional therapy could be a valuable approach for increasing paretic upper limb activity and maintaining paretic upper limb function in the chronic phase of stroke.