Investigating the Feasibility of Combining Virtual Reality and Bilateral Transcranial Direct Stimulation to Improve Upper Limb Recovery in Patients With Stroke

Following a stroke, the function of the distal upper limb, especially hand and finger movements, is often severely compromised, significantly restricting the ability to carry out daily activities. It is estimated that 55-75% of stroke survivors suffer from motor dysfunction, with upper limb impairments affecting up to 85% of them (Tang et al., 2024). Current rehabilitation approaches, while beneficial, often produce limited gains in hand function, particularly in patients with chronic stroke. Virtual reality (VR) training has emerged as a promising tool in neurorehabilitation, providing repetitive, task-specific, and engaging practice environments that can promote motor learning (Cameirão et al., 2012). tDCS has also shown potential to enhance motor recovery when combined with motor practice (Kang et al., 2016). To date, no studies have directly compared the effectiveness of Bi-tDCS with VR for improving upper limb function after stroke.

NCT Number	NCT07288385
Lead Sponsor	King Saud University Collaborators: King Saud Medical City, King Fahad Medical City
Conditions	Brain Diseases, Central Nervous System Diseases, Nervous System Diseases, Stroke, Paresis
Enrollment	100 participants
Start Date	2025-12-28
Primary Completion	2026-12-30 (estimated)
Study Completion	2027-01-30 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov	2025-12-30