Abstract

Objectives: This study aims to assess the effect of functional assistive stimulation for the hand (FAST-HAND) in patients with chronic stroke.

Patients and methods: This single-blind, randomized-controlled study included 15 participants with a four-week follow-up between October 2021 and August 2024. All participants underwent task-oriented upper extremity (UE) rehabilitation twice weekly for four weeks. The FAST-HAND group received training with transcutaneous spinal stimulation and a long opponent-pronation orthosis, while the control group received rehabilitation without these devices. The Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) upper extremity motor score (FMA-total), the modified Ashworth scale (MAS), the Motor Activity Log-14 amount of use (MAL-14 AOU), the Box and Block Test (BBT), the H-reflex, and reciprocal inhibition were assessed before, after, and four weeks after the intervention.

Results: Fifteen participants (13 males, 2 females; mean age: 53.0 ± 7.86 years; range, 38 to 67 years) were randomly allocated to the FAST-HAND (n=7) and control (n=8) groups. The mean FMA-total in the FAST-HAND group showed a significant change at post (42.6 ± 13.9) compared to baseline (39.0 ± 15.0) (p=0.025).

Conclusion: Our study results suggest that FAST HAND can modestly improve UE motor function immediately after the intervention.

Citation:
Maeda M, Honaga K, Kono H, Yamaguchi T, Isayama R, Murakami Y, et al. Transcutaneous spinal stimulation combined with a long opponent-pronation orthosis (FAST-HAND) for upper extremity motor function in patients with chronic stroke: A randomized-controlled trial. Arch ISPRM 2026;1(1):67-79. https://doi.org/10.5606/archisprm.2026.34

M.M., K.H., T.Y., A.T., F.W., K.H., T.F.: Idea/concept; M.M., K.H., T.Y., T.F.: Design, analysis and/or interpretation, References and fundings; K.H., T.Y., T.F.: Control/ supervision; M.M., K.H., R.I., Y.M., T.F.: Data collection and/or processing; M.M., T.Y., T.F.: Literature review; M.M.: Writing the article; K.H., H.K., T.Y., R.I., Y.M., A.T., F.W., K.H., T.F.: Critical review; Materials: T.F. Other: H.K.

The author(s) declared the following potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: KH had received payments for his lectures from GlaxoSmithKline plc. TEIJIN HEALTHCARE Limited, and MFC Medical Co., Ltd.
TF has received research grants or contracts from Meltin MMI, LIFESCAPE Inc., i3 MEDICAL Inc., Meteo Inc., Takashimaya Co., Ltd., MF consultant Co. Ltd., JF rehabilitation clinic, the MIKIYA Science and Technology Foundation, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP22H03442).
TF is the named lead inventor of a patent on the transcutaneous spinal stimulation device used in this manuscript, which has been assigned to Pacific Supply Co. Ltd., and received payments for his lectures from TEIJIN HEALTHCARE Limited, GlaxoSmithKline plc., MFC Medical Co., Ltd., Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd., FrontAct Co., Ltd., and LIFESCAPE Inc.
The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

The authors declare that this study received funding from Pacific Supply Co. Ltd. The funder had the following involvement with the study: Provision of research funding and lending of a stimulation device.

Data Availability
The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

AI Disclosure
The authors declare that artificial intelligence (AI) tools were not used, or were used solely for language editing, and had no role in data analysis, interpretation, or the formulation of conclusions. All scientific content, data interpretation, and conclusions are the sole responsibility of the authors. The authors further confirm that AI tools were not used to generate, fabricate, or ‘hallucinate’ references, and that all references have been carefully verified for accuracy.

The authors thank FORTE Science Communications (https://www.forte-science.co.jp/) for English language editing.