Usability of Myosuit exosuit and effects of device-mediated rehabilitation on chronic stroke survivors: a non-randomized pilot study.

This was a pilot with no control group and no randomisation, so before-after changes cannot be attributed to the Myosuit. The sample was small: 10 participants analysed, with 4 dropouts, and final data for dropouts were missing. The participant flow is unclear because the paper says 10 were enrolled, but also says 24 were screened, 10 were not enrolled and 4 dropped out. Usability varied widely, from poor to best imaginable, and users said they would need technical support. The tests were always performed without the exosuit before the with-exosuit condition, which could introduce fatigue bias. The setting was an outpatient-like research environment, not home or community use. Stair descent used the isometric mode and had no dedicated descending mode, which may explain the slower descent time. The study included only chronic stroke survivors, not subacute or inpatient populations. The SPPB psychometric properties were not validated in stroke survivors, and the number of treatment sessions was limited.

One author is named as author of European patent application 16207252.4, filed by ETH Zürich and licensed by MyoSwiss AG, and is a minor shareholder at MyoSwiss AG. All other authors declared no competing interests. Financial support was Ricerca Corrente, Italian Ministry of Health.

Do not conclude the Myosuit improves walking after stroke. This was a small non-controlled pilot, the primary outcome was usability, self-efficacy did not change, and stair descent time worsened.