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Multiple SclerosisEDUCATNCT05292690

An Assistive Powered Wheelchair: Stage 2 Trial

An observational study of Multiple Sclerosis and Stroke, run by East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust at 1 site in United Kingdom.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

Preliminary evaluation of an obstacle alerting system to enhance the user's independent mobility by improving their confidence to drive and their safety in driving a powered wheelchair. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 to 90 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
Conditions the study is for
Multiple Sclerosis, Stroke, Cystic Fibrosis
What is being tested?
Powered Wheelchair Obstacle Alerting System
Type of treatment
Medical device
How many people
17 participants
Where
1 siteUnited Kingdom
Study dates
29 Mar 2021to 31 Aug 2021
Phase
Observational
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 to 90 years
  • All sexes
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Adult, Older adult

Study population: Adult non-powered wheelchair users

Who may be able to join

  • Adults who are not wheelchair users.
  • Willing and able to provide a valid consent.
  • Able to participate in interviews aided or unaided using preferred method of communication.
  • Willing to drive a powered chair.

Who cannot join

  • 1. Lacks capacity to consent

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United Kingdom1 site
  • East Kent Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

    Canterbury, Kent, CT1 3NG

Other trials in United Kingdom

About this study

Official title: An Assistive Powered Wheelchair: Stage 2 Trial - Powered Wheelchair User Evaluation of an Obstacle Alerting System. A Non-interventional Study

Preliminary evaluation of an obstacle alerting system to enhance the user's independent mobility by improving their confidence to drive and their safety in driving a powered wheelchair.

Read the detailed description

Many powered wheelchair users find that collision free driving presents a significant challenge to confident and safe driving. In some cases so much so that the user will not drive their chair in some environments.

Interviews with users in the EDUCAT project confirmed that users had problems driving safely and confidently in a confined space, passing through doorways or down narrow corridors and when reversing.

Therefore the goal of this stage of the project is to improve the quality of life of the powered chair user by developing an obstacle alerting system which will help improve their confidence and safety in driving.

This was to be achieved by asking expert users to provide feedback on the impact and usefulness of providing information about the presence and location of obstacles in the vicinity of their powered wheelchair.

There are two aspects to this.

  1. User assessment of the usefulness of the obstacle alerting feedback. This will include user evaluation of the value of the different modes of feedback - audio, visual and haptic - and how best to adapt these to the range of driving environments and driving speeds. And what level of control the user requires to select and deselect these options.
  2. Monitoring the user's driving patterns with and without obstacle alerting -using the Stage 1 recording device.

The analysis of this data, and feedback from the Users and carers will inform the development and design of the obstacle alerting system.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic the trial could not be carried out with powered wheel-chair users participating as they represented a clinically vulnerable part of the population. The trial was, therefore, adapted and carried out with adult non-wheelchair users.

Being tested
Powered Wheelchair Obstacle Alerting System
Medical subject headings
Multiple Sclerosis, Stroke, Cystic Fibrosis, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Craniocerebral Trauma, Guillain-Barre Syndrome

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Powered Wheelchair Obstacle Alerting SystemDevice

    Evaluation of an Obstacle Alerting System

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Pre-trial Participant Evaluation of the possible Value of an Obstacle Alerting System

    The participant had been given an information sheet describing the Obstacle Alerting System.

    The participants were given the pre-trial questionnaire to obtain their opinion of the value of the Obstacle Alerting System.

    In a face to face interview the participants were asked to score each question. 0=don't know, 1=not at all, to 5=very helpful. Participants were also asked to discuss the reasons for their choices.

    Questions included. Value of warning of obstacles in the vicinity of the powered chair. Use of visual, auditory and haptic feedback in a range of environments e.g. small room, lifts, corridor, doorways, crowded spaces.

    The value of a reversing camera.

    Perceived benefit for Powered Chair Users.

    Measured: immediately before the intervention/procedure

  2. Post-trial Participant Evaluation of the possible Value of the Obstacle Alerting System

    Post-trial questionnaire based on pre-trial questionnaire. Participants reassessed the Obstacle Alerting System [OAS] in the light of experience.

    In a face to face interview the participants were asked to score each question. 0=don't know, 1=not at all, to 5=very helpful. Participants were also asked to discuss the reasons for their choices.

    Asked when they found the OAS helpful and when unhelpful. Assessment of the feedback options and when they were and were not helpful. How could the OAS be improved to make it more user friendly and environment specific.

    Perceived benefit for Powered Chair Users.

    Measured: immediately after the intervention/procedure

  3. Joystick range of movement patterns with and without the Obstacle alerting System Active

    Range of movement scatter plots/ heat maps

    Measured: immediately after the intervention/procedure

  4. Smoothness of joystick movement with and without the Obstacle alerting System Active

    Smoothness of movement e.g. Normalised Jerk Score. A lower score indicates smoother and more controlled movements.

    Typical values for this trial are in the range of 3000-5000. A lower score is an indication of the participant learning to drive and becoming more familiar with the course.

    A lower score may occur with the Obstacle Alerting system active - if it helps. A higher score if it distracts. At present this is a novel measure of these factors

    Measured: immediately after the intervention/procedure

  5. Joystick path length with and without the Obstacle alerting System Active

    Joystick path length - distance the participant moves the joystick to drive the course. Calculated from the joystick displacement X and Y coordinates.

    For a set course it would be expected that the path length will decrease as the participant learns to drive and familiarises with the course. Fatigue not having an impact.

    A lower score may occur with the Obstacle Alerting system active - if it helps. A higher score if it distracts. At present this is a novel measure of these factors

    Measured: immediately after the intervention/procedure

  6. Time to complete the course with and without the Obstacle alerting System Active

    Manually timed. Start when participant enters the course, stop when exiting the course

    Measured: immediately after the intervention/procedure

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted23 Mar 2022
  2. Study start29 Mar 2021
  3. Primary completion1 Apr 2021
  4. Study completion31 Aug 2021

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Observational
Observational model
Cohort
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrolment
17 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT05292690
Sponsor's protocol ID
2020/MEDPHYS/01
Acronym
EDUCAT
Status last verified
Jul 2022
First submitted
2 Feb 2022
Last updated
1 Aug 2022
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

An observational study of Multiple Sclerosis and Stroke, run by East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust at 1 site in United Kingdom.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 4 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 1 Aug 2022. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in United Kingdom. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Pre-trial Participant Evaluation of the possible Value of an Obstacle Alerting System (time frame: immediately before the intervention/procedure). The study lists 6 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 1 Aug 2022.

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