Scientific title:
Investigating a home-based self-administered computerised tool for rehabilitating and assessing spatial neglect after stroke: A feasibility study
Institution:
University of East Anglia
Principal investigator:
Helen Morse
Grant value:
£86,722
Research ID:
SA PGF 19\100016
Research area:
Start date:
Tuesday 1 October 2019
End date:
Thursday 31 August 2023
Duration:
3 years 11 months
Status:
Closed
Year awarded:
2019

Background

Stroke is a leading cause of disability in the UK. Every stroke is unique and the effects of a stroke depend on many things, including where in the brain the stroke happened.

Sometimes, damage to the brain caused by a stroke means that it no longer receives information about one side of the body and/or world. If this happens, a stroke survivor might not be aware of anything on one side of their body – the opposite side to where their stroke happened. This is called spatial neglect and it affects around one in three stroke survivors.

People with spatial neglect tell us “it’s terrifying, I bump into people” and “there’s not enough support at home”. They tend to have poor recovery and long term disability after their stroke, and there is currently no effective treatment.

Helen and her supervisor, Dr Stephanie Rossit, are investigating a treatment called Spatial Inattention Grasping Home-based Therapy (SIGHT). This treatment involves people picking up and balancing wooden rods at their centre, using their less affected hand. They found that stroke survivors who received this treatment had improved spatial neglect, and this improvement was still seen four months later. One of the benefits of this treatment is that it can be done by stroke survivors without the need for a therapist or carer present at all times.

Working closely with stroke survivors, carers, and clinicians, the research team have made SIGHT into a computer-based exercise. Feedback from stroke survivors included that it was “better with the computer” than without, and would “increase the amount of time I spend on rehabilitation”.

What is this research aiming to do?

This study will investigate:

  • Whether the computerised SIGHT treatment can be delivered at home.
  • How a large research study into SIGHT could be carried out.
  • How accurate computer based tests for neglect are compared with pencil-and-paper tests.

What difference could this research make?

Helen thinks that SIGHT will be a low-cost and enjoyable treatment for stroke survivors with spatial neglect, and that it will reduce disability and improve quality of life in those who receive it.

Update

In September 2023, Helen passed her viva (the final PhD exam) and became Dr Morse!