AI-guided personalized rehabilitation to improve upper-limb recovery after stroke
Official title: Personalized Rehabilitation Pathways to Maximal Motor Functional Return Through an AI Recovery Prediction System for Diverse Stroke Survivors
Run by Chinese University of Hong Kong · NCT06828679 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project tests whether an explainable AI system can predict recovery and recommend tailored rehab (usual care alone or plus acupuncture, robotic training, or NMES) for people aged 65–80 who had a first-time unilateral stroke 1–6 months earlier.
Quick facts
| Study type | Interventional |
|---|---|
| Ages | 65 Years to 80 Years |
| Sex | All |
| Enrollment | 400 (estimated) |
| Sponsor | Chinese University of Hong Kong Academic / other |
| Locations | 1 site (Hong Kong, Sha Tin) |
| Status | Recruiting |
| Started | July 1, 2025 |
| Main results expected | December 31, 2027 |
| Study ends | June 30, 2028 |
| Registry record updated | December 22, 2025 |
| Trial ID | NCT06828679 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
Is this trial a fit for you?
✓Likely a good fit
Ideal candidates are people aged 65–80, 1–6 months after a first-time unilateral supratentorial stroke with moderate-to-severe upper-limb weakness (Fugl-Meyer upper extremity 10–50) who can give consent and have detectable EMG in target forearm muscle groups.
✕Probably not a fit
Patients who are unconscious or bed-bound, have uncontrollable diabetes, severe comorbid organ failure, a cardiac pacemaker, anticipated non-adherence, bilateral or brainstem/cerebellar strokes, or who fall outside the age/onset windows are unlikely to benefit from or be eligible for this protocol.
A plain-English reading of the study's rules. Only the study team can confirm whether you qualify.
What this trial studies
Four hundred subacute stroke survivors will be randomly assigned to one of four groups receiving usual rehabilitation alone or usual care plus acupuncture, robotic training, or neuromuscular electrical stimulation, with treatments lasting at least one month and at least 20 sessions. Detailed baseline assessments (clinical exams, MRI, EEG, EMG, TMS, and blood tests) will be collected before rehab, with clinical scores and EMG measured immediately after and at six months to quantify short- and longer-term recovery. Midpoint clinical scores will be recorded during therapy to monitor progress. All multimodal data will be analyzed offline using machine learning to develop PRAISE-HK, an explainable AI that predicts individual recovery potential and the treatment likely to maximize functional return.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the system could help match each person to the rehabilitation approach most likely to boost arm function and independence while making rehab delivery more efficient.
How similar studies have gone: Robotics, NMES, and acupuncture have produced mixed but sometimes positive functional gains in prior trials, while multimodal predictive and explainable AI approaches for individualizing rehab are promising but remain relatively novel and not yet widely validated.
Who can join: the full rules
Show full inclusion / exclusion criteria
IInclusion Criteria: * Age 65-80 * 1-6 months after onset of a first-time unilateral stroke rostral to midbrain * Moderate-to-severe motor impairment of one upper limb (Fugl-Meyer Assessment for Upper Extremity of 10-50 out of 66); * Able to provide written informed consent; * Detectable electromyographic (EMG) activities in flexor digitorum-flexor carpi radialis and extensor digitorum-extensor carpi ulnaris muscle groups, with EMG from each muscle group exceeding 3 standard deviations above baseline mean. This last criterion is essential for successful NMES training Exclusion Criteria: * Unconscious or bed-bound; * Uncontrollable diabetes; * Anticipated non-adherence to treatment schedule; * On cardiac pacemaker; * Other severe comorbidities (heart/kidney failure, deranged liver function).
Where it's running
-
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Hong Kong, Sha Tin, Hong Kong Recruiting
Study contacts
- Study coordinator: Yat Sing Kelvin Lau, MSc
- Email: yatsingkelvinlau@cuhk.edu.hk
- Phone: 85296363365
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How to take part
- Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
- Check the official listing on ClinicalTrials.gov for the latest contact details and recruitment status.
- Contact the study coordinator or principal investigator to ask for pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.