Transcranial direct current stimulation and wrist robot-assisted integrated treatment on subacute stroke patients: A randomized, sham-controlled trial

The goal of this study is to analyse the effects of combined transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and wrist robot-assisted therapy in subacute stroke patients. Thirty-nine patients were included in this study and randomly assigned to the experimental or control group. All participants performed wrist robot-assisted training (a) in conjunction with tDCS (real stimulation for experimental group) or (b) without tDCS (sham stimulation for control group). Clinical outcome measure and kinematic parameters were used as assessment metrics. The clinical outcome measures, except the Modified Ashworth Scale showed significant increase after treatment in both groups, but no significant difference in the average changes after treatment between groups was observed. Movement velocity and smoothness showed some significant increases after training, however no significant difference between groups was observed. The combination of wrist robotic training and tDCS did not show any additional effects in comparison with wrist robot-assisted training only in subacute stroke patients.