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A Novel Functional Electrical Stimulation Treatment for Recovery of Hand Function in Hemiplegia: 12-Week Pilot Study

Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, jsk12{at}case.edu

Terri Z. Hisel, OTR/L

Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, MetroHealth Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio

Mary Y. Harley, OTR/L

Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, MetroHealth Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio

John Chae, MD

Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, MetroHealth Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio

Background. Loss of finger extension is common after stroke and can severely limit hand function. Contralaterally controlled functional electrical stimulation (CCFES) is a new treatment aimed at restoring volitional finger and thumb extension. A previous pilot study showed reductions in hand impairment after 6 weeks of CCFES, but the effect did not persist after end of treatment. Objective. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of achieving greater and more persistent gains with CCFES by increasing the treatment period to 12 weeks. Methods. CCFES uses neuromuscular electrical stimulation to open the paretic hand in direct proportion to the degree of volitional opening of the unimpaired contralateral hand, which is detected by an instrumented glove. Three subjects with chronic hemiplegia participated in a 12-week CCFES treatment, which consisted of daily CCFES-assisted active repetitive hand-opening exercises and twice weekly functional task practice with CCFES. Results. Maximum voluntary finger extension increased by 101° and 68° for subjects 1 and 2, respectively, but subject 3 had no improvement in finger extension. Box and Block score increased by 6, 15, and 7 blocks, and upper extremity Fugl-Meyer score increased by 11, 15, and 7 points for subjects 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The finger extension gains declined at the 1-month and 3-month follow-up for subjects 1 and 2, but the gains in Box and Block and Fugl-Meyer scores persisted at follow-up. Conclusions. Greater reductions in hand impairment were achieved by extending the treatment period. The effect and its longevity may be related to baseline impairment level.

Key Words: Stroke • Hemiplegia • Contralaterally controlled functional electrical stimulation • Rehabilitation • Medical device

This version was published on January 1, 2009

Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair, Vol. 23, No. 1, 17-25 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1545968308317577


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