You will have to have your doctor get the complete study because there is not enough in the details here to tell how good it is or what the protocol looks like. If your stroke department head doesn't know about this study before you bring it up it is time to call your hospital president and demand some people get fired. Damn it all, these people are supposed to know more than their patients.
http://7thspace.com/headlines/489414/virtual_reality_training_for_upper_extremity_in_subacute_stroke_virtues_study_protocol_for_a_randomized_controlled_multicenter_trial.html
Novel virtual reality rehabilitation systems provide the potential to
increase intensity and offer challenging and motivating tasks. The
efficacy of virtual reality systems to improve arm motor function early
after stroke has not been demonstrated yet in sufficiently powered
studies.
The objective of the study is to investigate whether VR
training as an adjunct to conventional therapy is more effective in
improving arm motor function in the subacute phase after stroke than
dose-matched conventional training, to assess patient and therapist
satisfaction when working with novel virtual reality training and to
calculate cost-effectiveness in terms of resources required to regain
some degree of dexterity.Methods/DesignRandomized controlled
observer-blind trial.One hundred and twenty patients up to 12?weeks
after stroke will be randomized to either a group receiving VR training
or dose-matched and therapist attention-matched conventional arm
training in addition to standard rehabilitation. During a period of four
weeks the patients will be offered additional 4?5 training sessions a
week of 45?60 minutes duration by a physiotherapist or an occupational
therapist.Study outcomes: Arm motor function, dexterity and independence
in daily life activities will be evaluated at baseline, post treatment
and three months follow-up assessments with the Action Research Arm
Test, Box and Blocks Test and the Functional Independence Measure,
respectively.
Patient and therapist satisfaction with the
implementation of a VR rehabilitation system will also be assessed with
questionnaires and interviews.DiscussionVirtual reality systems are
promising tools for rehabilitation of arm motor function after stroke.
Their introduction in combination with traditional physical and
occupational therapy may enhance recovery after stroke, and at the same
time demand little personnel resources to increase training intensity.
The VIRTUES trial will provide further evidence of VR-based treatment
strategies to clinicians, patients and health economists.Trial
registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT02079103
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