Effect of using Soft Six Finger on cortical electrical activity in post-stroke patients

• Grant number: 23/09005-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: December 01, 2023
• End date: March 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy
• Principal Investigator: Thiago Luiz de Russo
• Grantee: Thainá Cristina Ramos dos Santos
• Supervisor: Simone Rossi
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde (CCBS). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Università degli Studi di Siena, Italy
• Associated to the scholarship: 22/09118-3 - Relationship between intracranial pressure, attention and fine motor coordination after negative head tilt in healthy subjects, BP.IC

Abstract

Stroke is a leading cause of death and acquired in adults. It is considered a neurological deficit caused by an acute focal injury to the Central Nervous System (CNS). Stroke causes neuronal death, and leads to dysfunction in motor activities, as in the case of the upper limbs, where there is a limitation in reaching and grasping objects, making Activities of Daily Living (ADL) difficult. After stroke, there is a process of interhemispheric inhibition, in which the unaffected side becomes more excited and inhibits activities in the affected hemisphere, as a way to protect the penumbra area. Studies with robotic prostheses on the affected limb - such as the Soft Six Finger (SSF) - indicate that this therapy helps recover brain activity in the chronic post-stroke phase. The gold standard assessing cortical activity is electroencephalography (EEG), and it can be used as a way to measure the effect of rehabilitation on cortical modulation with the use of robotic prostheses. Objective: Evaluate cortical activity pre and post reach and grasp training using the SSF in post stroke patients. Methodology: Observational study in which post-stroke individuals aged 18 - 65 years will be recruited, with a preserved level of consciousness and without complete sensory loss of the affected arm. On the first day, volunteers will go through the adaptation phase to the use of the SSF and their cortical activity will be monitored by EEG, then, they will take the SSF home and must use the equipment for four hours a day, three times a week, for a week. After this period, they should return to the laboratory and the cortical activity will be collected. Statistics: Normality (Kolmogorov-Smirnov) and homogeneity (Levene) tests, will be applied for initial data analysis. To assess cortical electrical activity during the execution of tasks with the SSF, comparing pre and post-moments, the paired t-test will be performed for parametric cases, and the Wilcoxon test will be performed for non-parametric cases. A significance level of 5% and a confidence interval of 95% will be considered. (AU)