A usability study in patients with stroke using MERLIN, a robotic system based on serious games for upper limb rehabilitation in the home setting.
Silvia Guillén-Climent, Ainara Garzo, María Nieves Muñoz-Alcaraz and 4 others
PMID 33622344WHAT IT FOUND
Nine stroke patients rated a home robotic rehabilitation system as easy to use and motivating.
They found it safe, but because most also received other therapy, the small improvements in arm movement cannot be attributed to the robot alone.
Key findings
01Participants rated the system's usability as good, with a mean score of 71.94% on the System Usability Scale.
02Small improvements in upper limb motor function were observed, with significant changes in coordination and total motor score, but spasticity did not change.
03Most patients also received other occupational or physiotherapy sessions, so the effect of the robotic system cannot be isolated.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study was small (9 completers) and had no control group, so improvements in arm movement could be due to natural recovery or the other therapies patients were receiving. Most participants (88.9%) were also receiving other occupational or physiotherapy sessions, making it impossible to separate the effect of the MERLIN system from standard care. Three patients dropped out due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected recruitment and the ability to include additional participants. The study duration was short (3 weeks), which limits the ability to assess long-term usability or effectiveness. Participants were selected for mild to moderate impairment and cognitive ability, so results may not apply to those with severe deficits or cognitive impairment.
Declared interests
The study was funded by EIT Health. The text does not explicitly state whether the funding body had a role in the design, analysis, or writing of the manuscript, nor does it list specific financial conflicts of interest for the authors.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that the MERLIN system caused the improvements in arm movement. Most patients in the study also received other therapies, and the study had no control group, so the specific contribution of the robot cannot be separated from other factors.