Clinical Effects of Using HEXORR (Hand Exoskeleton Rehabilitation Robot) for Movement Therapy in Stroke Rehabilitation

Objective: The goals of this pilot study were to quantify the clinical benefits of using the Hand Exoskeleton Rehabilitation Robot for hand rehabilitation after stroke and to determine the population best served by this intervention. Design: Nine subjects with chronic stroke (one excluded from analysis) completed 18 sessions of training with the Hand Exoskeleton Rehabilitation Robot and a preevaluation, a postevaluation, and a 90-day clinical evaluation. Results: Overall, the subjects improved in both range of motion and clinical measures. Compared with the preevaluation, the subjects showed significant improvements in range of motion, grip strength, and the hand component of the Fugl-Meyer (mean changes, 6.60 degrees, 8.84 percentage points, and 1.86 points, respectively). A subgroup of six subjects exhibited lower tone and received a higher dosage of training. These subjects had significant gains in grip strength, the hand component of the Fugl-Meyer, and the Action Research Arm Test (mean changes, 8.42 percentage points, 2.17 points, and 2.33 points, respectively). Conclusions: Future work is needed to better manage higher levels of hypertonia and provide more support to subjects with higher impairment levels; however, the current results support further study into the Hand Exoskeleton Rehabilitation Robot treatment.