Early Robotic Gait Training After Stroke

Gait speed via 10-Meter Walk Test (10MWT)

The 10MWT assesses gait speed over a short duration. Gait speed (m/s) is correlated with ability to mobilize in the community, capacity to perform activities of daily living, and risk of falls, re-hospitalization, and cognitive decline. The 10MWT can be used to categorize individuals according to their ambulatory ability: household ambulators (\<0.4 m/s), limited community ambulators (0.4 to 0.8 m/s), and community ambulators (\>0.8 m/s). Score changes \>0.16 m/s exceed the MCID. Normal gait speed for adults older than 50 years is \>1.27 m/s.

Functional Ambulation Category (FAC)

The FAC assesses functional ambulation in patients undergoing rehabilitation and has excellent reliability, good predictive validity, and good responsiveness in patients with stroke. Scores range from 0 (unable to walk) to 5 (independent walking anywhere). After 4 weeks of rehabilitation, FAC scores ≥4 predict community ambulation at 6 months with 100% sensitivity and 78% specificity.

Continuity Assessment Record and Evaluation (CARE)

The Section GG CARE is utilized in post-acute care settings for tracking progress across the continuum of care and is conducted at admission and discharge. The CARE addresses self-care (GG0130, 8 items) and functional mobility (GG0170, 17 items). Scores for each item range from 1 (dependent) to 6 (independent). Total scores for the CARE have strong positive correlations with total scores for the Functional Independence Measure.

6-Minute Walk Test (6MWT)

The 6MWT assesses distance walked over 6 minutes as a sub-maximal test of walking capacity. Endurance (captured as walking capacity) is essential to participate in community-based activities. With excellent test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.99) for people with stroke, the established MCID is 34.4 meters.

Modified Rankin Scale (mRS)

The mRS measures the degree of disability or dependence in the daily activities of people who have had a stroke. The mRS is an ordinal scale with 6 categories ranging from 0 (no symptoms) to 5 (complete physical dependence).

Gait quality

To supplement the study's measurements of RGT efficacy (10-meter walk test \[gait speed\], 6-minute walk test \[gait endurance\], and Functional Ambulation Category \[gait independence\]), the investigators will additionally measure gait quality. Improvements in quality of gait after a stroke are associated with gains in balance and functional mobility. Further, return to participation in life roles is largely associated with a patients' perspective on their recovery. Therefore, the most impactful way to capture gait quality for each participant will be to use a measure of self-report. Specifically, gait quality will be measured weekly on a visual analog scale from 1 ("my walking is the worst it has ever been") to 10 ("my walking is just like before my stroke").

Pain following each gait training session

Pain after stroke is common and can result in reduced participation in activity. This change will allow the investigators to monitor the impact of pain on gait outcomes. Pain will be assessed following each RGT and UC session using a pain visual analog scale, as per standard of care in the investigators' inpatient rehabilitation hospital.

Adverse event rate

Number of adverse events occurring at baseline through study completion.

Treatment tolerability (RGT only)

Subjects will provide feedback on their tolerance of treatment sessions via a questionnaire that measures tolerability on a scale 0 (not tolerable at all) to 10 (maximally tolerable). A higher score means greater tolerability in robotic gait training.