ClinicalTrials.gg
Not yet recruitingNCT07259876BUILTUpdated Apr 28, 2026

Efficacy of a Bilateral Robotic Treatment in Chronic Patients

An interventional study of Bilateral robotic treatment for the upper limbs and Standard physiotherapy in Stroke, sponsored by University of Pisa. Not yet recruiting. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 80 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-04-28.

Sponsored by University of Pisa · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
60
Allocation
Non-randomized
Ages
18 Years to 80 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate how manual dominance influences the effectiveness of bilateral robotic treatment in right-handed patients with chronic stroke.

Researchers will compare the outcome of a bilateral robotic treatment for the upper limbs in left vs right hemisphere lesions following stroke.

Participants will:

  • perform a bilateral robotic treatment for the upper limb (15 sessions in three weeks) followed by 20-minutes standard manual rehabilitative sessions
  • be evaluated before and after treatment with clinical scales, resting- state EEG and kinematic measurements
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Conditions studied

  • Stroke

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03

In context

Stroke

8,255 studies on the registry are indexed under Stroke; 2,056 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 60 is above the median of 49 across 6,024 interventional studies indexed under Stroke.

Browse Stroke studies →

Lead sponsor

University of Pisa is the lead sponsor of 113 studies on the registry; 28 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 80 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Subjects aged between 18 and 80 years, of either sex
  • Subjects able to understand and provide, or have provided on their behalf,
  • History of a single unilateral ischemic or hemorrhagic cerebrovascular event in the chronic phase (> 6 months)
  • Subjects with mild to moderate functional impairment of the right or left upper limb (ability to perform antigravity active movements)

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Subjects with cognitive deficits that impair understanding of the required tasks ( score corrected for age and education \< 24/30)
  • Subjects with severe visual deficits
  • Subjects with upper limb spasticity preventing the use of robotic devices (spasticity measured using the Modified Ashworth Scale > 3)
  • Inability or unwillingness to provide
  • Left-handed subjects
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(2)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Informed consent

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

MMSE and MoCA

Short tests of memory and thinking, each scored out of 30. Lower scores suggest more difficulty; criteria give a range, either to include people with memory problems or to leave them out.

05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Non-randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Double (Care provider, Investigator)
Enrollment
60 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Left hemisphere lesion group

    The stroke patients with left hemisphere lesion will be performing the bilateral robotic treatment with the exoskeleton ALEx-RS followed by a standard manual treatment

    Device: Bilateral robotic treatment for the upper limbs · Behavioral: Standard physiotherapy

  • Experimental
    Right hemisphere lesion group

    The stroke patients with right hemisphere lesion will be performing the bilateral robotic treatment with the exoskeleton ALEx-RS followed by a standard manual treatment

    Device: Bilateral robotic treatment for the upper limbs · Behavioral: Standard physiotherapy

Interventions

  • DeviceBilateral robotic treatment for the upper limbs

    Patients will perform a specific sequence of exercises with the exoskeleton for the upper limbs ALEx-RS, including passive and active-assisted movements, unilateral and bilateral reaching tasks with visual feedback, and symmetric and asymmetric bimanual coordination tasks.

  • BehavioralStandard physiotherapy

    After the robotic treatment, patients will undergo 20 minutes of conventional treatment consisting of passive and active-assisted mobilization with the help of a physiotherapist.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Changes in the Fugl-Meyer for the upper limb functional scale (UEFM)

    The scale ranges from 0 to 66, with higher scores indicating better performance

    Time frame: From the pre-training evaluation (T0) to the follow up (T2), about 11 weeks after T0

Secondary outcomes

  1. Changes in the Bimanual Activity Test scale (BAT)

    The scale ranges from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating better performance

    Time frame: From the pre-training evaluation (T0) to the follow up (T2), about 11 weeks after T0

  2. Changes in the modified Ashworth scale (MAS)

    The scale ranges from 0 to 6, with lower scores indicating better performance

    Time frame: From the pre-training evaluation (T0) to the follow up (T2), about 11 weeks after T0

  3. Changes in the Stroke Impact Scale (SIS)

    The scale ranges from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating better performance

    Time frame: From the pre-training evaluation (T0) to the follow up (T2), about 11 weeks after T0

  4. Changes in the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)

    The scale ranges from 0 to 10, with higher scores indicating higher pain

    Time frame: From the pre-training evaluation (T0) to the follow up (T2), about 11 weeks after T0

  5. Changes in the Quick Dash scale

    The scale ranges from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating higher level of disability

    Time frame: From the pre-training evaluation (T0) to the follow up (T2), about 11 weeks after T0

  6. Changes in weighted Phase Lag Index (wPLI) cortico-cortical brain connectivity (EEG)

    The investigators will be measuring variations in the weighted Phase Lag Index (wPLI)

    Time frame: From the pre-training evaluation (T0) to the follow up (T2), about 11 weeks after T0

  7. Changes in weighted Symbolic Mutual Information (wSMI) cortico-cortical brain connectivity (EEG)

    The investigators will be measuring variations in the weighted Symbolic Mutual Information (wSMI)

    Time frame: From the pre-training evaluation (T0) to the follow up (T2), about 11 weeks after T0

  8. Changes in muscular synergies (EMG)

    The investigators wil be measuring changes in muscle synergy patterns using the non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) algorithm

    Time frame: From the pre-training evaluation (T0) to the follow up (T2), about 11 weeks after T0

  9. Changes in kinematic movement smoothness (SPARC)

    The investigators will measure changes in movement smoothness using the SPARC parameter

    Time frame: From the pre-training evaluation (T0) to the follow up (T2), about 11 weeks after T0

07

Study locations

No study locations are listed for this record.

08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Yes — all IPD that underlie results in a publication

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reachedSimilar studies: half by the dot; the band is the middle halfHalf of similar studies reached it by the dot; the band is the middle half, from a quarter to three quarters

Start is estimated for Jul 2026; primary completion for Dec 2026, 5 months later.

Of 3,108 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Stroke, half reached primary completion within 23 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 10 and three quarters within 46. This study's planned 5 months is below that.

Counting every sponsor, half of 3,252 studies reached it within 23 months; a quarter within 10 and three quarters within 46.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Nov 14, 2025
First posted
Dec 2, 2025
StartEst.
Jul 2026
Primary completionEst.
Dec 2026
CompletionEst.
Dec 2026
Last update
Apr 28, 2026
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Apr 28, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT07259876
Lead sponsor
University of Pisa
Collaborators
Azienda Ospedaliero, Universitaria Pisana, Villa Beretta Rehabilitation Center, Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi ETS, Ospedale Policlinico San Martino
Responsible party
Carmelo Chisari (Professor, University of Pisa) — Principal investigator
First posted
Dec 2, 2025
Start date
Jul 2026 (estimated)
Primary completion
Dec 2026 (estimated)
Completion
Dec 2026 (estimated)
Last update
Apr 28, 2026

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Apr 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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