Investigate Augmented Reality and Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Technology in People with Stroke

In recent years, strokes have been ranked as number two among the top 10 causes of mortality in Taiwan. Stroke is a leading cause of long-term disability and affects cognition function, walking ability, balance, functional activity, quality of life and etc. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and augmented reality (AR) are both important issues in the advanced rehabilitation medicine. Recent studies showed that rTMS may affect neural plasticity while applied to individual with stroke. Possible mechanism of rTMS may be to restore the disrupted equilibrium and the inter-hemispheric communication in order to rebalance the interhemispheric competition and promote functional recovery. For application of AR , several studies revealed that AR auditory and visual feedback technologies may improve upper limb’s function of individuals with stroke. However, few of studies have reported the effect of AR on balance and gait performance in people with stroke. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the effect rTMS and AR technologies on cortical excitability, balance, gait, activity, and etc. in people with stroke. For above purpose, we design two years project to assess the effect of TMS and AR technologies in people with stroke. During the period of two years, forty-eight stroke subjects participated in the study. We divided participants of stroke into four groups: rTMS and AR group, sham rTMS and AR group, rTMS and traditional rehabilitation group, as well as sham rTMS and traditional rehabilitation group. All participants will undergo four week, 3 sessions per week, and 60 minutes per session program. Cortical excitability, balance, gait, activity, and etc. will be assessed before and after intervention. We expect through this two year project can help us to further understand the potential effects of rTMS and AR in treating individuals with stroke. Further, the results of clinical trials of this project will be provided physicians and therapists as reference materials for further rehabilitation designs in people with stroke in the future. In addition, we hope individuals with stroke can improve their function through the intervention of this project.