VR and Scrip Training of PWA, Randomized Controlled Trial

N/ANot Yet RecruitingNCT06722092

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University105 enrolled

Overview

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?

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Enrollment

105

Conditions

Aphasia, Acquired Chronic Stroke

Interventions

VR-based script trainingBEHAVIORAL

The PWA will wear a head-mounted VR device (e.g., Metaverse Oculus Quest 2 or other commercially available devices) for 30 minutes, which intends to create an immersive environment for training. Scripts trained in the computerized script training program in a particular session will be practiced. Cinematic 360˚ photo-real scenarios of daily contexts such as a restaurant or a grocery store will be displayed in the device while a communication partner, e.g., a waiter in the restaurant or a shopkeeper of a grocery store will initiate the conversation by producing the corresponding part of the script. The PWA will be given time to respond. Upon the completion of PWA's respond, the next conversational turn will be initiated. The clinical assistant, who accompanies the PWA in the entire training session, will control the flow of the 360 ˚ videos.

Conventional script trainingBEHAVIORAL

The flow of training is identical to the VR condition, except that photos depicting the scenarios and prerecorded conversational turns will be presented to the PWA on a computer screen with the same procedures mentioned in the VR condition.

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 30 YearsMax age: 80 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

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.