ReJoyce and ReGrasp: Summary of Clinical Studies

Since the company was founded as a spinoff from the Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute of the University of Alberta, ReJoyce has been the subject of clinical studies around the world. Studies have tested the system with acute and chronic stroke and spinal cord injured populations. In many of these studies, ReJoyce has been combined with FES (functional electrical stimulation) devices for the hand such as the ReGrasp, another Rehabtronics rehabilitation device. Read on for summaries of some of the studies conducted. 

30 participants with hemiplegia secondary to stroke were enrolled in the study. Patients were randomly assigned one of two groups: one hour “one-to-one” sessions of conventional physical therapy five days a week for a total of 20 hours four weeks, and one hour/day conventional occupational therapy seven days a week for a total of 28 hours four weeks. The interventional group received one hour of ‘one-on-one’ conventional physical therapy five days a week for a total of twenty hours within a four-week period. Furthermore, these patients received half an hour of conventional occupational therapy and half an hour of ReJoyce computerized exercise seven days a week for a total of twenty-eight hours. In the intervention group, Brunnstrom stages of stroke recovery (BSSR) of the hand improved significantly. The authors concluded that gaming systems such as ReJoyce may be considered a feasible option for stroke rehabilitation both in the hospital and home setting, especially in times such as the Covid-19 epidemic when home-based rehabilitation options are becoming increasingly important.

In the article, results of a RCT involving 13 tetraplegics who sustained a spinal cord injury more than a year prior are presented. In this study, participants were randomly divided into two groups, each performing Exercise Therapy (ET) at home while receiving tele coaching for one hour per day, five days per week for six weeks. The control group engaged in conventional ET, computer games played with a trackball, and 20 minutes of TES per day. Treatment participants used ReJoyce workstations to play computer games. Functional Electrostimulation (FES) was used to enhance voluntary hand grasps and releases using a wireless earpiece that detected small voluntary tooth clickings. Clinically significant improvements in upper limb function were observed in the treatment group.

As part of the prospective case study, ReJoyce was deployed in the homes of 11 chronic stroke survivors, 1 hour per day for a period of six weeks, as well as weekly telecoaching five days a week. The use of functional electrical stimulation assisted the opening and grasping of the hands. A significant improvement was observed in all functional tests, with the greatest improvement in the groups with a baseline intermediate score.

This is a pilot study involving 3 chronic stroke victims with a mini-mental score greater than 24 and right-handed hemiparesis at least one year following the stroke. Functional Electrostimulation (FES) enabled participants to enhance their grasp and hand aperture. ReJoyce exercise therapy was performed telesupervised five days a week for six weeks. ReJoyce exercize therapy consisted of playing custom games with the aid of a surface FES hand stimulator that stimulated the muscles extensor digitorum (ED) and extensor pollicis longus (EPL) for hand opening. A tooth-click trigger was used to trigger the stimulator wirelessly. The hand function of all three subjects improved after six weeks.

The study involved the deployment of Internet-connected ReJoyce workstations in the homes of 13 tetraplegic participants, located across a wide geographical region in Western Canada. A small team of therapists and students provided tele-coaching to participants on a daily basis. It was found that tele-coaching can be convenient and effective for both therapists and patients.

Thirteen patients with C5-C7 tetraplegia were enrolled in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) comparing two treatment options. ReJoyce workstation with functional electrostimulation (FES) garment assisting regrasp and release in comparison to conventional exercise therapy with therapeutic electrostimulation. The treatments were tele supervised for six weeks at a rate of one hour per day, five days a week. It was concluded that the results were clinically relevant and were maintained for a period of three months.