Trial reportTrials2017
Robot Assisted Training for the Upper Limb after Stroke (RATULS): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.
Trial report in Trials, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Electromechanical and robot-assisted arm training for improving activities of daily living, arm function, and arm muscle strength after stroke.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2018Pooled it
- Does visual error augmentation offer advantages during bimanual therapy in individuals poststroke? A randomized controlled trial.The Journal of international medical research · 2025Trial
- Trial
- Evaluation of the enhanced upper limb therapy programme within the Robot-Assisted Training for the Upper Limb after Stroke trial: descriptive analysis of intervention fidelity, goal selection and goal achievement.Clinical rehabilitation · 2021Trial
- Robot-assisted training compared with an enhanced upper limb therapy programme and with usual care for upper limb functional limitation after stroke: the RATULS three-group RCT.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2020Trial
- Robot assisted training for the upper limb after stroke (RATULS): a multicentre randomised controlled trial.Lancet (London, England) · 2019Trial
- A Scoping Review of Technology-Based Approaches for Upper Limb Motor Rehabilitation after Stroke: Are We Really Targeting Severe Impairment?Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Economic Cost of Rehabilitation with Robotic and Virtual Reality Systems in People with Neurological Disorders: A Systematic Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Review
- Benefits of Robot-Assisted Upper-Limb Rehabilitation from the Subacute Stage after a Stroke of Varying Severity: A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Article
- Robot Assisted Treatment of Hand Functional Rehabilitation Based on Visual Motor Imagination.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2022Article
- Error-Related Negativity-Based Robot-Assisted Stroke Rehabilitation System: Design and Proof-of-Concept.Frontiers in neurorobotics · 2022Article
- Robot-Assisted Therapy in Upper Extremity Hemiparesis: Overview of an Evidence-Based Approach.Frontiers in neurology · 2019Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
25 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundLoss of arm function is a common and distressing consequence of stroke. We describe the protocol for a pragmatic, multicentre randomised controlled trial to determine whether robot-assisted training improves upper limb function following stroke. METHODS/
designStudy design: a pragmatic, three-arm, multicentre randomised controlled trial, economic analysis and process evaluation.
settingNHS stroke services.
participantsadults with acute or chronic first-ever stroke (1 week to 5 years post stroke) causing moderate to severe upper limb functional limitation. Randomisation groups: 1. Robot-assisted training using the InMotion robotic gym system for 45 min, three times/week for 12 weeks 2. Enhanced upper limb therapy for 45 min, three times/week for 12 weeks 3. Usual NHS care in accordance with local clinical practice Randomisation: individual participant randomisation stratified by centre, time since stroke, and severity of upper limb impairment. PRIMARY OUTCOME: upper limb function measured by the Action Research Arm Test (ARAT) at 3 months post randomisation. SECONDARY OUTCOMES: upper limb impairment (Fugl-Meyer Test), activities of daily living (Barthel ADL Index), quality of life (Stroke Impact Scale, EQ-5D-5L), resource use, cost per quality-adjusted life year and adverse events, at 3 and 6 months. Blinding: outcomes are undertaken by blinded assessors. Economic analysis: micro-costing and economic evaluation of interventions compared to usual NHS care. A within-trial analysis, with an economic model will be used to extrapolate longer-term costs and outcomes. Process evaluation: semi-structured interviews with participants and professionals to seek their views and experiences of the rehabilitation that they have received or provided, and factors affecting the implementation of the trial. SAMPLE SIZE: allowing for 10% attrition, 720 participants provide 80% power to detect a 15% difference in successful outcome between each of the treatment pairs. Successful outcome definition: baseline ARAT 0-7 must improve by 3 or more points; baseline ARAT 8-13 improve by 4 or more points; baseline ARAT 14-19 improve by 5 or more points; baseline ARAT 20-39 improve by 6 or more points. DISCUSSION: The results from this trial will determine whether robot-assisted training improves upper limb function post stroke.
trial registrationISRCTN, identifier: ISRCTN69371850 . Registered 4 October 2013.
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Registered trials
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