Ring sensors and phone app aim to boost arm use after stroke
NCT ID NCT06787729
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jul 14, 2026 · Updated 3 times
Summary
This study tests whether wearing ring and wrist sensors and seeing your own movement data on a smartphone can encourage stroke survivors to use their affected arm more during daily activities. Fifty chronic stroke survivors (more than 12 months post-stroke) will wear the sensors for four weeks, with the first week as a baseline and the next three weeks adding feedback, goal-setting, and weekly video calls with a therapist. The goal is to see if this motivation-based approach increases real-world arm use.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- mHealth device (ring and wrist sensors with smartphone app and clinician feedback)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could give stroke survivors a practical, home-based tool to improve arm use and regain independence.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early feasibility study (50 people) with no control group, so results may not apply broadly. The improvement may be small or temporary.
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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About 50 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Apr 2026
- Expected to finish
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Jul 2027
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 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: * Stroke survivor (ischemic or hemorrhagic), \>12 months post stroke, at the time of consent * Aged between 18 and 80 * Ability to extend ≥ 10° at the metacarpophalangeal joint and one of the interphalangeal joints of each finger, ≥ 10° extension or abduction of the thumb, and ≥ 20° extension of the wrist from a fully flexed starting position. * Demonstrating more affected arm nonuse, defined as a MAL-AoU score of \</= 4.5. * Actively uses at least one smartphone app. * Strong beliefs towards being in control of their recovery, indicated by a score of ≤ 10 points on the Internal Recovery Locus of Control (I-RLOC) Scale. * Participants must be able to read, write, and understand English at a level sufficient to comprehend study materials and provide informed consent. Exclusion Criteria: * Cognitive impairments that may affect the ability to understand and follow instructions (score \< 24 in the Mini Mental State Examination) * Difficulties comprehending numbers, dyslexia, severe aphasia, or other neurological conditions that prohibit the use of smartphones for safety reasons. * Undergoing other types of motor therapy during the study period. * Previous participation in constraint-induced movement therapy. * Currently participating in or has participated in the past 3 months in any experimental rehabilitation or drug studies. * Use of botulinum toxin for motor disability ≤ 3 months before treatment. * Significant changes in pharmacological or treatment plans during the study period that may affect upper-limb use. * Major medical problems that could interfere with participation. * History of a disabling stroke (i.e., need more than minimum assistance to perform ADLs). * Legally blind status. * Uncontrolled seizures. * Inability to don/doff sensors independently or with the assistance of a caregiver. * Implantable medical devices that do not comply with the ISO 14117:2012 and/or ANSI/AAMI PC69 standards for electromagnetic compatibility. Subjects will be asked to provide their medical device record card, and non-compliant devices will result in exclusion from the study.
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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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Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Motion Analysis Laboratory
RECRUITINGCharlestown, Massachusetts, 02474, United States
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