Mind-Controlled electrical stimulation helps stroke survivors walk again
NCT ID NCT04279067
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tested a brain-computer interface (BCI) combined with functional electrical stimulation (FES) to help stroke survivors with foot weakness walk better. 62 adults who had a stroke at least 6 months prior and had trouble walking participated. The therapy used brain signals to trigger electrical stimulation that lifted the foot, aiming to improve gait speed and range of motion.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- brain-computer interface combined with functional electrical stimulation (device)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could point toward a new rehabilitation method that helps stroke survivors walk better and more independently.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, completed early-stage study with 62 participants. Results may not apply to all stroke survivors, and the therapy requires specialized equipment and training.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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62 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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May 2020
- Finished
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Nov 2024
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 80 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Age18-80 years inclusively at time of consent; 2. Radiologically confirmed stroke, ischemic or intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) in etiology, with day of onset at least 26 weeks prior to day of randomization 3. Gait velocity\<0.8 m/s at screening and baseline visits. 4. Foot-drop in affected limb as defined by dorsiflexion active range of motion (AROM) via goniometry in seated position foot dangling is less than passive range of motion and less than 15 degrees. 5. Plantarflexors spasticity\<3 on modified Ashworth Scale; 6. Can walk \>10 m (with or without ankle foot orthosis (AFO), and cane or walker permitted) at a supervised level; 7. Can tolerate FES with pain no more than 4 on pain analog scale and has adequate muscle response of dorsiflexion ≥10 degrees; 8. Passive Range of Motion at least 0 degrees ankle dorsiflexion in subtalar neutral or with FES Exclusion Criteria: 1. A major, active, coexistent medical, neurological (apart from stroke) or psychiatric disease (apart from stroke), including alcoholism or dementia, orthopedic injuries, that substantially affects gait. \*\*Because old orthopedic injuries may or may not affect gait, at the discretion of the site's study PI, exclusion criterion #2 related to orthopedic injuries can be waived if the injury was not on the stroke affected side and the joint/muscles are back to normal motor and range of motion function. 2. A major medical disorder that substantially reduces the likelihood that a subject will be able to comply with all study procedures or safely complete study procedures. This includes, but not limited to documented serious cardiac conditions, serious pulmonary conditions, legal blindness, end stage renal or liver disease, pulmonary embolism or deep venous thrombosis. 3. Resting systolic blood pressure above 170, diastolic blood pressure above 100 at screening and baseline evaluations 4. Implanted electronic device (e.g. pacemaker) or skull metallic implants (e.g. cranioplasty plate covering the leg motor area); 5. Deficits in communication that interfere with reasonable study participation: language or attention impairment (score\>1 on NIH Stroke Scale items 9 and 11, respectively) 6. Significant cognitive impairment, defined as Montreal Cognitive Assessment score \< 22 (For those with aphasia: \*\*Because Montreal Cognitive Assessment scores may be difficult to interpret for patients with aphasia, at the discretion of the site's study PI, exclusion criterion #5 ("MoCA score cannot be \<22") can be waived) 7. A new symptomatic stroke occurs apart from the index stroke during the screening process and prior to randomization 8. Life expectancy \< 6 months 9. Skin breakdown over electrical stimulation sites; 10. Received chemical denervation (eg Botox) to legs in the preceding 6 months, or expectation that chemical denervation will be administered to the leg prior to expected completion of the study 11. Unable or unwilling to perform study procedures/therapy, or expectation of non-compliance with study procedures/therapy 12. Pregnancy; 13. Significant pain (visual analog scale \>4), chest pain, or shortness of breath with walking. 14. Receiving any outside concurrent physical therapy involving the lower extremities after enrollment in the study up to 1 month post treatment 15. Any general medical condition and psychosocial situation that substantially interferes with reasonable participate in study appointments 16. Non-English speaking, such that subject does not speak sufficient English to comply with study procedures 17. Concurrent enrollment in another investigational interventional study 18. Severe depression, defined as Geriatric Depression Scale Score \>11: \*\*Because Geriatric Depression scale scores may be difficult to interpret for some patients, at the discretion of the site's study PI, exclusion criterion #17 ("Geriatric Depression score cannot be \>11") can be waived) 19. Concurrent use of FES orthosis for gait. 20. A new symptomatic stroke occurs apart from the index stroke during the screening process and prior to randomization If TMS Eligible (note that potential subjects who do not qualify for TMS will not be excluded from the main study, they will only be excluded from undergoing TMS procedures): 21. TMS: Metallic hardware on the scalp (e.g. vascular clips or cranioplasty mesh) 22. TMS: Implanted medication pumps, intracardiac line, or central venous catheter 23. TMS: History of cortical stroke or other cortical lesion such as brain tumor 24. TMS: Prior diagnosis of seizure or epilepsy 25. TMS: Any electrical, mechanical, or magnetic implants 26. TMS: History of neurosurgery 27. TMS: uncontrolled Migraine headaches 28. TMS: Any current medications that affect seizure threshold such as tricyclic antidepressants and neuroleptics 29. TMS: Unstable medical conditions
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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University of California, Irvine - Sue & Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center
Irvine, California, 92697, United States
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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