Robot and electrical zaps at home could boost stroke recovery
NCT ID NCT04550728
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study is testing whether a home-based ankle robot, with or without functional electrical stimulation (FES), can improve leg movement and walking in people who have had a stroke. The trial will include 60 participants who are at least 6 months post-stroke and can walk a short distance with help. The goal is to see if this combination of technologies can be used effectively at home to aid recovery.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- ankle robot training and functional electrical stimulation (FES)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could provide an effective home-based rehabilitation option to improve leg function and walking ability in chronic stroke survivors.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early-phase trial with only 60 participants, so results may not apply to all stroke survivors. The home-based setting may also affect consistency of 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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Phase 1/2
Runs two stages together: safety and dose first, then whether the treatment works.
- Participants
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About 60 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Aug 2021
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2026
An estimate. End dates often move.
- 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 85 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.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Age 18-85; * Able to ambulate at least 10 meters without human assistance, with or without an assistive device * ≥ 6 months post stroke; * having a caregiver to assist in training at home. Exclusion Criteria: * having expressive and receptive aphasia; * an inability to follow multi-step commands; * enrolled in another lower limb rehabilitation program; * having severe pain in the paralyzed lower-limb; * \>30º ankle plantar flexion contracture; * Having implanted electronic device such as a pacemaker, spinal cord, or deep brain stimulator because FES may potentially interfere with their functions.
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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.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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University of Maryland School of Medicine
RECRUITINGBaltimore, Maryland, 21201, United States
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