Wearable vibrotactile stimulation for upper extremity rehabilitation in chronic stroke: clinical feasibility trial using the VTS Glove.

Only 16 participants were randomized, and the study was designed for feasibility, not to establish efficacy. The trial was not registered on clinicaltrials.gov and had no prior sample-size calculation. Two participants withdrew prematurely, and their last measured values were carried forward. One VTS participant was not included in some tactile perception range calculations because baseline measures could not be represented on graphs. Baseline active range of motion differed significantly between groups, and the control group included fewer members with low to moderate starting function. The sham glove still provided fabric contact, daily donning, stretching, attention from weekly visits, and continued standard care, so the effect of vibration alone cannot be isolated. Modified Ashworth Scale has confounding factors, and lesion location was not recorded. Six-month follow-up was available for only two participants.

Funding was provided by a Graduate Research Fellowship and Microsoft Research. No other conflict statement is given in the supplied text.

Do not read this as proof that vibrotactile stimulation alone restores hand function. The study was a small feasibility trial, all participants continued standard care, and both groups wore a glove and stretched to put it on. The glove may have been feasible, but it was not shown to be an established treatment.