Trial reportPloS one2020
A randomized controlled study incorporating an electromechanical gait machine, the Hybrid Assistive Limb, in gait training of patients with severe limitations in walking in the subacute phase after stroke.
Trial report in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 7 of them syntheses 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
24 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Optimising adherence to inpatient rehabilitation trial protocols: A mixed-methods systematic review.Clinical trials (London, England) · 2025Pooled it
- Electromechanical-assisted training for walking after stroke.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Effect of end-effector robot training on lower limb motor function and balance in stroke patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Pooled it
- Efficacy of robot-assisted gait training on lower extremity function in subacute stroke patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2024Pooled it
- Effect of robotic exoskeleton training on lower limb function, activity and participation in stroke patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in neurology · 2024Pooled it
- Control strategies used in lower limb exoskeletons for gait rehabilitation after brain injury: a systematic review and analysis of clinical effectiveness.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2023Pooled it
- Efficacy of robotic exoskeleton for gait rehabilitation in patients with subacute stroke : a systematic review.European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicine · 2022Pooled it
- Effects of different intensity training with a lower limb exoskeleton robot on walking function in people with subacute stroke: a randomized controlled trial.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2026Trial
- Rehabilitation during early postoperative period following total knee arthroplasty using single-joint hybrid assistive limb as new therapy device: a randomized, controlled clinical pilot study.Archives of orthopaedic and trauma surgery · 2022Trial
- Efficacy of an exoskeleton-based physical therapy program for non-ambulatory patients during subacute stroke rehabilitation: a randomized controlled trial.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2021Trial
- Postoperative gait training using the Hybrid Assistive Limb for pediatric spinal intramedullary cavernous malformation: illustrative case.Journal of neurosurgery. Case lessons · 2026Article
- The effects of different types of RAGT on balance function in stroke patients with low levels of independent walking in a convalescent rehabilitation hospital.Open medicine (Warsaw, Poland) · 2025Article
- Robot-assisted gait training in stroke.Turkish journal of physical medicine and rehabilitation · 2024Review
- Review
- Exoskeleton-assisted training to enhance lower limb motor recovery in subacute stroke: does timing matter? A pilot randomized trial.Frontiers in stroke · 2024Article
- Analyzing gait data measured by wearable cyborg hybrid assistive limb during assisted walking: gait pattern clustering.Frontiers in medical technology · 2024Article
- The Effect of Robot-Assisted Training on Arm Function, Walking, Balance, and Activities of Daily Living After Stroke: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Brain & NeuroRehabilitation · 2023Article
- Balance Rehabilitation through Robot-Assisted Gait Training in Post-Stroke Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Brain sciences · 2023Review
- Review
- A framework for clinical utilization of robotic exoskeletons in rehabilitation.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Early onset, intensive and repetitive, gait training may improve outcome after stroke but for patients with severe limitations in walking, rehabilitation is a challenge. The Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL) is a gait machine that captures voluntary actions and support gait motions. Previous studies of HAL indicate beneficial effects on walking, but these results need to be confirmed in blinded, randomized controlled studies. This study aimed to explore effects of incorporating gait training with HAL as part of an inpatient rehabilitation program after stroke. Thirty-two subacute stroke patients with severe limitations in walking were randomized to incorporated HAL training (4 days/week for 4 weeks) or conventional gait training only. Blinded assessments were carried out at baseline, after the intervention, and at 6 months post stroke. The primary outcome was walking independence according to the Functional Ambulation Categories. Secondary outcomes were the Fugl-Meyer Assessment, 2-Minute Walk Test, Berg Balance Scale, and the Barthel Index. No significant between-group differences were found regarding any primary or secondary outcomes. At 6 months, two thirds of all patients were independent in walking. Prediction of independent walking at 6 months was not influenced by treatment group, but by age (OR 0.848, CI 0.719-0.998, p = 0.048). This study found no difference between groups for any outcomes despite the extra resources required for the HAL training, but highlights the substantial improvements in walking seen when evidence-based rehabilitation is provided to patients, with severe limitations in walking in the subacute stage after stroke. In future studies potential subgroups of patients who will benefit the most from electromechanically-assisted gait training should be explored.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.