Assessment of the robotic devices for overground gait training in post stroke patient: A Systematic review and Meta-analysis.

Abstract

Objective: Stroke is a major cause of disability, impacting mobility worldwide. Overground robotic-assisted gait training (o-RAGT) uses wearable exoskeletons to improve walking. This systematic review and meta-analysis assess its effectiveness versus conventional gait training in enhancing gait velocity and balance in post-stroke patients.

Design: Our search was conducted in the Pubmed, Cochrane, ScienceDirect, Scopus and PEDro electronic databases for English journal articles about human randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of the last two decades, investigating o-RAGT effects on gait parameters of poststroke patients compared with conventional gait training.

Results: A comprehensive literature search identified seven RCTs with a total of 288 participants. Meta-analysis results indicated that o-RAGT significantly improved post-intervention gait velocity (summary mean difference: 0.09 m/sec, 95% CI: 0.02-0.17), while other gait parameters, such as stride length and cadence, showed no statistically significant differences. The intervention was well-tolerated, with no major adverse events reported.

Conclusion: Despite the positive impact on gait speed, challenges remain, including high device costs and the need for further research to optimize training parameters. These findings support the potential of o-RAGT as an effective tool for gait rehabilitation in stroke survivors, highlighting the need for larger studies with long-term follow-up to refine its clinical application.