VR and Scrip Training of PWA, Randomized Controlled Trial (VRSTPWA)

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Status: Not yet enrolling

Conditions: Aphasia, Acquired; Chronic Stroke

Treatments: Behavioral: VR-based script training; Behavioral: Conventional script training

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT06722092

HSEARS20230228003-01

Details and patient eligibility

About

The goal of this RCT is to investigate if computerized script training may promote functional communication and nonverbal cognitive functions of Cantonese-speaking PWA, and whether VR may further magnify the treatment outcomes.

The main research questions are:

1. Can script training promote verbal functional communication of Cantonese-speaking PWA?
2. Can script training enhance nonverbal cognitive functions of Cantonese-speaking PWA?
3. Can VR magnify verbal and nonverbal treatment outcomes of script training of PWA?

Enrollment: 105 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 30 to 80 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

1. a stroke onset more than six months, with an Aphasia Quotient (AQ) below 96.4, as evaluated by the Cantonese version of Western Aphasia Battery (CAB; Yiu, 1992),
2. premorbid fluent Cantonese speakers,
3. aged between 30 and 80 years,
4. no reported progressive neurogenic disorders such as dementia or Parkinson's disease,
5. no motor speech disorders of moderate to severe level, and
6. normal or corrected-to-normal vision and hearing functions

Exclusion criteria

1. concurrent participation in other aphasia treatment trials, and
2. incompatibility with immersive VR exposure such as complains of nausea, headache, or other severe discomforts during trial use of a head-mounted device during screening.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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105 participants in 3 patient groups

VR-based script training

Experimental group

Treatment:

Behavioral: VR-based script training

Control

No Intervention group

Computerized script training without VR

Active Comparator group

Treatment:

Behavioral: Conventional script training