Effectiveness of a Soft Robotic Glove to Assist Hand Function in Stroke Patients: A Cross-Sectional Pilot Study

摘要

Purpose. Stroke patients have difficulty performing tasks using their paretic hands. There are limited data on the effects of using a soft robotic glove to assist with hand function. The objective of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a soft robotic glove in assisting hand function in stroke patients. Methods. This study was a cross-sectional pilot study. Twenty stroke patients with partial or complete hand weakness were recruited from a rehabilitation centre. The Box and Block Test (BBT) and the Action Research Arm Test (ARAT) were performed under two conditions: with and without use of the soft robotic glove. The order of the conditions was randomly assigned by a computer-generated program. Results. BBT scores increased 6.4 blocks when using the soft robotic glove ( <a:math xmlns:a="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M1"> <a:mi>p</a:mi> <a:mo>&lt;</a:mo> <a:mn>0.001</a:mn> </a:math> ). ARAT grasp, grip, pinch, and overall scores increased by 27.08% ( <c:math xmlns:c="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M2"> <c:mi>p</c:mi> <c:mo>&lt;</c:mo> <c:mn>0.01</c:mn> </c:math> ), 28.75% ( <e:math xmlns:e="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M3"> <e:mi>p</e:mi> <e:mo>&lt;</e:mo> <e:mn>0.001</e:mn> </e:math> ), 15.89% ( <g:math xmlns:g="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M4"> <g:mi>p</g:mi> <g:mo>&lt;</g:mo> <g:mn>0.01</g:mn> </g:math> ), and 21.15% ( <i:math xmlns:i="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M5"> <i:mi>p</i:mi> <i:mo>&lt;</i:mo> <i:mn>0.001</i:mn> </i:math> ), respectively, using the glove versus not using the glove. Conclusions. The findings of this study suggest that using a soft robotic glove can assist a poststroke paretic hand in executing grasp, grip, and pinch.