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VRehab-SMA Phase 1.2
Sponsor: University of Oxford
Summary
Spinal muscular atrophy is a genetic disorder characterized by progressive muscle weakness, severely impacting patients' motor abilities. Several disease modifying therapies have been developed to treat Spinal muscular atrophy which have led to new disease trajectories . According to standard of care guidelines, exercise programs should be designed and monitored by a physical therapist and should include exercises to improve daily life activities. Exercises should be adapted to each patient and can be prescribed with an optimal frequency in various ways. However, of patients with Spinal muscular atrophy, only 20% reported access to endurance exercises and only 6% to mixed exercises. This incompliance to standard of care guidelines is due to manpower limitation and difficulties in engaging with young and sometimes highly disabled children. Our group has been pioneering in developing the UK at-home individualised rehabilitation program. To address this challenge, the Investigators propose the development of an innovative, virtual targeted rehabilitation platform specifically designed for young patients with Spinal muscular atrophy. This technology aims to provide a patient-centric, at-home rehabilitation solution, enabling parents/caregivers to facilitate daily exercises in a more accessible and enjoyable manner. This technology would constitute the first of its kind in Spinal muscular atrophy field, involving the integration of augmented electromyography signals and soft robotic haptic devices into a gamified virtual reality environment. By increasing the frequency and quality of exercise interventions at home, this technology has the potential to significantly address the critical unmet need for consistent rehabilitation. This technology will also serve as a clinical outcome measure for continuous home-based assessments of weaker and less functional population in place of hospital-based assessments.
Official title: Virtual Targeted Rehabilitation for Patients With Spinal Muscular Atrophy: Phase 1.2: Proof-of-concept
Key Details
Gender
All
Age Range
6 Years - 18 Years
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Enrollment
12
Start Date
2026-05
Completion Date
2027-04
Last Updated
2026-05-11
Healthy Volunteers
No
Conditions
Interventions
VRehab SMA device
The VRehab SMA device includes: * A screen to provide visual feedback (like games or animations) * Bluetooth-connected EMG sensors to measure muscle activity in the arms * A ball to measure grip strength * A virtual reality (VR) headset (used only for participants over 10 years of age)