The potential effect of a vibrotactile glove rehabilitation system on motor recovery in chronic post-stroke hemiparesis

BACKGROUND: Poor fine motor skills are common among chronic stroke patients. Conventional rehabilitation programs only emphasize intensive and repeated exercises that do not motivate patients to continue rehabilitation. Using a vibrotactile glove rehabilitation system with a human-computer interaction interface can therefore resolve this issue. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to examine the potential benefits of this vibrotactile glove rehabilitation system for chronic stroke patients who have already reached the recovery plateau. METHODS: Two interesting computer games were designed to coordinate with the vibrotactile gloves in patient training. The training sessions lasted for about 30 minutes twice a week for five consecutive weeks. We compared finger ROM, grip strength, pinch strength, NHPT, and MHQ results before and after the intervention and surveyed subject satisfaction afterwards. RESULTS: The subjects showed slight improvements in muscle strength and hand after five weeks. The patients reported progress, but the differences did not reach statistical significance. In the satisfaction questionnaire, the subjects gave positive ratings. CONCLUSIONS: This vibrotactile glove rehabilitation system has the potential to help chronic stroke patients who have reached their recovery plateau to make progress and is clinically quite effective in increasing their motivation.