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Robotic Exoskeleton Gait Training With and Without Brain-Computer Interface Control After Stroke
Sponsor: Taichung Veterans General Hospital
Summary
After a stroke, many people have trouble walking. One way to practice walking again is with a wearable robot, called an exoskeleton, that supports the legs and guides them through a walking pattern. In most systems, a therapist or a sensor decides when each step starts. This study looked at whether it helps to let a person's own brain activity start each step instead. Sensors placed on the scalp recorded brain signals. A computer read these signals and told the robot when to take a step. This way of controlling a device is called a brain-computer interface. People who had a stroke within the past year took part. They were placed by chance into one of two groups. One group practiced walking with the robot in the usual way. The other group practiced with the robot controlled by their own brain signals. Both groups trained twice a week for 4 weeks. Before and after the training, the study team measured how far each person could walk in 6 minutes, how long it took to stand up and walk a short distance and sit down again, how strong the knee muscles were, and how each person rated their own health and well-being. The study compared how much the two groups improved.
Official title: Comparison of the Therapeutic Effects Between Traditional and Brain-Computer Interface-Controlled Exoskeleton Gait Training in Post-Stroke Patients: A Randomized Comparative Study
Key Details
Gender
All
Age Range
30 Years - 80 Years
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Enrollment
42
Start Date
2025-01-01
Completion Date
2026-07-30
Last Updated
2026-08-12
Healthy Volunteers
No
Interventions
Conventional exoskeleton gait training
Powered lower-limb exoskeleton gait training, twice weekly for 4 weeks. Each session included sit-to-stand, walking, and stand-to-sit phases. Phase transitions were triggered externally by a trained study assistant. No EEG decoding was used.
BCI-controlled exoskeleton gait training
Same exoskeleton training schedule and phases. Each session began with a 6-minute EEG decoder calibration (theta, movement-related cortical potential, alpha). Each phase transition was triggered in a closed loop by the participant's decoded intent.
Locations (1)
Taichung Veterans General Hospital
Taichung, Taiwan