Comparative effects of kinect-based versus therapist-based constraint-induced movement therapy on motor control and daily motor function in children with unilateral cerebral palsy: a randomized control trial.

BACKGROUND: Constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) is a prominent neurorehabilitation approach for improving affected upper extremity motor function in children with unilateral cerebral palsy (UCP). However, the restraint of the less-affected upper extremity and intensive training protocol during CIMT may decrease children's motivation and increase the therapist's workload and family's burden. A kinect-based CIMT program, aiming to mitigate the concerns of CIMT, has been developed. The preliminary results demonstrated that this program was child-friendly and feasible for improving upper extremity motor function. However, whether the kinect-based CIMT can achieve better or at least comparable effects to that of traditional CIMT (i.e., therapist-based CIMT) should be further investigated. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the effects of kinect-based CIMT with that of therapist-based CIMT on upper extremity and trunk motor control and on daily motor function in children with UCP. METHODS: Twenty-nine children with UCP were recruited and randomly allocated to kinect-based CIMT (n = 14) or therapist-based CIMT (n = 15). The intervention dosage was 2.25 h a day, 2 days a week for 8 weeks. Outcome measures, namely upper extremity and trunk motor control and daily motor function, were evaluated before and after 36-h interventions. Upper extremity and trunk motor control were assessed with unimanual reach-to-grasp kinematics, and daily motor function was evaluated with the Revised Pediatric Motor Activity Log. Between-group comparisons of effectiveness on all outcome measures were analyzed by analysis of covariance (α = 0.05). RESULTS: The two groups demonstrated similar improvements in upper extremity motor control and daily motor function. In addition, the kinect-based CIMT group demonstrated greater improvements in trunk motor control than the therapist-based CIMT group did (F(1,28) > 4.862, p < 0.036). CONCLUSION: Kinect-based CIMT has effects comparable to that of therapist-based CIMT on UE motor control and daily motor function. Moreover, kinect-based CIMT helps decrease trunk compensation during reaching in children with UCP. Therefore, kinect-based CIMT can be used as an alternative approach to therapist-based CIMT. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02808195. Registered on 2016/06/21, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02808195 .

Development and Feasibility of a Kinect-Based Constraint-Induced Therapy Program in the Home Setting for Children With Unilateral Cerebral Palsy.

Introduction: Cerebral palsy (CP) is the leading cause of childhood-onset physical disability. Children with CP often have impaired upper limb (UL) function. Constraint-induced therapy (CIT) is one of the most effective UL interventions for children with unilateral CP. However, concerns about CIT for children have been repeatedly raised due to frustration caused by restraint of the child's less-affected UL and lack of motivation for the intensive protocol. Virtual reality (VR), which can mitigate the disadvantages of CIT, potentially can be used as an alternative mediator for implementing CIT. Therefore, we developed a VR-based CIT program for children with CP using the Kinect system. Aims: The feasibility of the Kinect-based CIT program was evaluated for children with unilateral CP using a two-phase study design. Materials and Methods: In phase 1, ten children with unilateral CP were recruited. To confirm the achievement of the motor training goals, maximal UL joint angles were evaluated during gameplay. To evaluate children's perceptions of the game, a questionnaire was used. In phase 2, eight children with unilateral CP were recruited and received an 8 weeks Kinect-based CIT intervention. Performance scores of the game and outcomes of the box and block test (BBT) were recorded weekly. Results: In phase 1, results supported that the design of the program was CIT-specific and was motivational for children with unilateral CP. In phase 2, game performance and the BBT scores began showing stable improvements in the fifth week of intervention. Conclusion: It suggested the Kinect-based CIT program was beneficial to the motor function of the affected UL for children with unilateral CP. According to the results of this feasibility study, larger and controlled effectiveness studies of the Kinect-based CIT program can be conducted to further improve its clinical utility. Clinical Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02808195; Comparative effectiveness of a Kinect-based unilateral arm training system vs. CIT for children with CP.