Cognitive Function and Upper Limb Rehabilitation Training Post-Stroke Using a Digital Occupational Training System

Summary

The current protocol outlines how the VR-based digital occupational training system enhances the rehabilitation of patients with cognitive impairment and upper limb dysfunction following a stroke.

Abstract

Stroke rehabilitation often requires frequent and intensive therapy to improve functional recovery. Virtual reality (VR) technology has shown the potential to meet these demands by providing engaging and motivating therapy options. The digital occupational training system is a VR application that utilizes cutting-edge technologies, including multi-touch screens, virtual reality, and human-computer interaction, to offer diverse training techniques for advanced cognitive capacity and hand-eye coordination abilities. The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of this program in enhancing cognitive function and upper extremity rehabilitation in stroke patients. The training and assessment consist of five cognitive modules covering perception, attention, memory, logical reasoning, and calculation, along with hand-eye coordination training. This research indicates that after eight weeks of training, the digital occupational training system can significantly improve cognitive function, daily living skills, attention, and self-care abilities in stroke patients. This software can be employed as a time-saving and clinically effective rehabilitation aid to complement traditional one-on-one occupational therapy sessions. In summary, the digital occupational training system shows promise and offers potential financial benefits as a tool to support the functional recovery of stroke patients.

Introduction

There is a high incidence, mortality, disability rate, and recurrence associated with stroke, or cerebrovascular accident¹. Globally, stroke has surpassed tumors and heart disease to become the second leading cause of death, and it is the primary cause in China². The incidence and social burden of stroke are expected to increase significantly in the coming years as the population ages. Survivors of stroke may continue to experience sensory, motor, cognitive, and psychological impairments³. The effects of a stroke can include paralysis of one side of the body, including the face, arms, and legs, a ....

Protocol

This study protocol received approval from the ethics committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University (approval number IIT20210035C-R2), and informed consent was obtained from all participants. An experimental study employing quasi-randomization, single-blinding, and a control group was conducted to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of the program. 24 patients hospitalized in the rehabilitation medicine ward of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University were invited to participate in this experiment. Inclusion criteria encompassed stroke patients confirmed by computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), aged 30-75 ye....

Results

In this study, 24 patients were enrolled presenting with upper limb dysfunction combined with various types of cognitive impairment following a stroke. The observed types of cognitive impairment included Amnesia, Agnosia, Executive Dysfunction, Attentional Impairments, among others. No statistically significant differences were found between the two groups in terms of sex, age, duration of disease, and type of stroke (P > 0.05), as detailed in Table 1. The experimental group, which underwent .......

Discussion

A virtual reality rehabilitation system was implemented to support the recovery of stroke patients, utilizing the latest multi-touch screen technology to enhance training engagement, immersion, interactivity, and conceptualization. This system provides interactive upper limb motor control training that integrates vision, hearing, and touch. It also includes rehabilitation training modules targeting memory, attention, spatial perception, computing, hand-eye coordination, and virtual tasks, offering personalized cognitive .......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
FlexTable digital occupational training system	Guangzhou Zhanghe Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd.	Observation on the rehabilitation effect of digital OT cognitive function training on stroke patients with decreased attention function	FlexTable digital operation training system uses the latest multi-touch screen technology, virtual reality and human-computer interaction technology, integrates a variety of training methods, and provides digital advanced brain function and hand-eye coordination training
SPSS 25.0	IBM		https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/downloading-ibm-spss-statistics-25