New Tool to Enhance Post-stroke Upper Extremity Disability

Individuals with low socioeconomic status (SES) are more likely to have a stroke, more disabled at 3 months, and less likely to be independently ambulatory. Individuals with low SES struggle to adhere to physician guidelines because of 1) increased disability leaves patients ineligible or unable to tolerate therapy, and 2) poor access to quality care i.e., lack of transportation to therapy. To reduce post-stroke disparity in low SES groups, society must invest in development of novel tools that make therapy more accessible. For the past 5 years, the PI has been developing Startle Adjuvant Rehabilitation Therapy (START), a tele-enabled, low-cost treatment to improve upper-extremity therapy outcomes in individuals with stroke - in particular individuals with severe-to-moderate stroke. START is the application of a startling, acoustic stimulus (via headphones) which increases the intensity of practice, particularly in severe patient populations. START is adjuvant, meaning it does not replace clinical practice but instead enhances current evidence-based treatments. Objective: the investigators seek to determine if START can be used to enhance functionally relevant movement of the upper extremity. Preliminary data: Individuals with severe-to-moderate disability from a stroke completed a remotely delivered, 3-day training of object manipulation with START. Box and Blocks, which was targeted during training, demonstrated a large increase under START (+47.1%) compared to Control (+3.3%). Modified functional reach was also increased under START (+8.9%) compared to Control (+1.1%). Impairment also decreased under START (Upper-Extremity-Fugl-Meyer: +8.6%) resulting in subject-reported increase in arm function both in quantity (Motor Activity Log: +26.2%) and quality (+20.2%). These results indicate that START can be deployed remotely and may prove a valuable, adjuvant tool to enhance functional upper extremity movement. The investigators propose to perform a Phase 1 clinical trial on a larger cohort of 58 subjects, with a longer, 5-day training with the goal of establishing that START can 1) enhance functional movement of the upper extremity and 2) generate sustainable changes that impact quality of life. Impact: This proposal is significant because it tests a tool that has the potential to directly target the causes leading to disparity of care for individuals with low SES. A third (34%) of 6.5 million people in the U.S. with stroke are on Medicaid or uninsured. Our best evidence-based therapies (e.g., high-intensity, CIMT) and our emerging rehabilitation technologies (e.g., TMS, robotics) are inaccessible to our minority and low SES populations. START addresses disparity because it 1) targets individuals with severe disability, which disproportionally affects low SES and minority groups, and 2) is tele-enabled eliminating transportation which 60% of individuals with low SES report as a barrier to care. If successful, this study will set the stage for larger trials to establish 1) the effectiveness of START to be incorporated into traditional therapy and as well as patient compliance, adherence, and tolerance - particularly in low SES groups.