An interventional study of MVC measurements of participants in Sarcopenia and Stroke, sponsored by Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Active, not recruiting at 1 site in Belgium. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-03-11.
Sponsored by Vrije Universiteit Brussel · Not applicable, Interventional, and Basic science
The goal of this study is to obtain the maximum voluntary torques of the lower-limb joints and to monitor oxygen level in the main lower-limb muscles. This will be done for three joints: i.e. the hip, knee and ankle joint and NIRS sensors will be placed on the biceps femoris, rectus femoris and gastrocnemius muscle. For the hip and knee, the maximum torque will be determined both in exertion direction and flexion direction. For the ankle, both plantarflexion and dorsiflexion will be considered. For each of these directions, the maximum joint torque will be defined for different specific joint angles and joint velocities (see procedure). For every joint and for the whole protocol for the torques measurement campaign, the different muscle of interest will be monitored with the NIRS, i.e. hip is associated with hamstring contraction, knee is associated with thigh contraction and ankle is associated with calf contraction. With these discrete points, an algorithm will be used to obtain a complete plot of the maximum torque in function of both joint angle and joint velocities. Comparing these plots between for example stroke and healthy individuals can help us understand what level of assistance stroke patients require. Comparison in oxygen level between healthy individuals and impairments population of stroke and sarcopenia patients can also help us investigate how oxygen is used depending on the population.
1,208 studies on the registry are indexed under Sarcopenia; 402 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 42 is below the median of 60 across 775 interventional studies indexed under Sarcopenia.
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Post stroke patients:
Sarcopenia patients:
Healthy participants:
Other: MVC measurements of participants
The protocol will be performed for six exertion directions for both legs: Hip Extension (HE), Hip Flexion (HF), Knee Extension (KE), Knee Flexion (KF), Plantar Flexion (PF) and Dorsi Flexion (DF). The protocol will be similar for each of these directions. The protocol described below will be performed for each joint. Position of subject during testing: * Ankle: hip flexed at 80° and knee flexed at 50° (in a seated position) * Knee: hip flexed at 70° (in a seated position) * Hip: done in a standing position. The knee slightly flexed with a knee immobilizer.
Obtaining maximum voluntary torques of the lower-limb joints for sarcopenia and stroke patients
The goal is to determine the maximum torque that each joint can produce in an isostatic case in the sagittal plane. Not only the amount of torque but also at which joint angle this manifests are important parameters that we would like to use for the design process of an exoskeleton. Furthermore, we'd like to obtain the change in maximum torque when transferring from an isostatic test to an isokinetic test. The higher the joint velocity, the more the torque will decrease. However, how much is this decrease? We expect that the decrease for increased joint velocities in the targeted populations will differ compared to healthy individuals
Time frame: 2 years
Measuring muscle oxygenation
To determine the differences in oxygen delivery and consumption between healthy individuals, sarcopenia patients, and stroke patients. Studying these profiles will provide insights into how these impairments affect the muscle under investigation and how oxygenation dynamics behave throughout the experiment.
Time frame: 2 years
This study is active, not recruiting, as verified in Mar 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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Vrije Universiteit Brussel