Recruiting

Virtual Assessments

Sponsor:

Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital

Code:

NCT07383753

Conditions

Cerebral Palsy (CP)

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 6 - 17

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Upper-Limb Virtual and In-Person Assessment

Study Details

Brief summary:

Cerebral palsy (CP) affects approximately 1 in 500 Canadian children, and the majority experience hand and arm limitations that impact independence, participation in daily activities, and overall quality of life. Many children require ongoing clinical assessments and therapy delivered in specialized centres, creating significant burden related to travel, scheduling, and interruptions to school and work. Barriers such as geography, socioeconomic factors, and pandemic-related service disruptions have further limited equitable access to in-person care. Although virtual care has expanded rapidly and families have expressed strong interest in hybrid care models, there is currently no validated approach for conducting comprehensive virtual hand-arm assessments for children with CP. Virtual administration of standardized assessments, individualized goal-based evaluations, and naturalistic observation tools has not been systematically studied. Evidence is urgently needed to determine which assessments can be administered virtually, how acceptable and feasible they are for families, and whether virtual and in-person assessment methods produce equivalent results.

Conditions

Cerebral Palsy (CP)

Study ID

NCT07383753

Start date

Oct 22, 2025

Status verified date

Feb, 2026

Completion date

Jan, 2027

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Jan, 2027

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 6 - 17

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Have a diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy
  • Are between 6 to 17 years old with sufficient cognitive capacity and cooperation to sit without a break for 30 minutes at a time
  • MACS levels I (handles objects easily) to III (handles objects with difficulty)
  • No visual limitations that would interfere with video conferencing
  • Has a caregiver willing to participate and can questions about preferences
  • Have an appropriate device and internet access for video conferencing

Exclusion Criteria:

\- Active treatments (e.g. Botulinum Toxin injections or constraint therapy in the last two months, or upper extremity surgery in the last 6 months) that might impact upper limb function stability over the study period.

Study Design

Enrollment

100 participants

Anticipated

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

Children with Cerebral Palsy (CP)

children and adolescents aged 6 to 17 years with a confirmed diagnosis of cerebral palsy and functional hand-arm abilities classified within MACS Levels I-III. All participants must have the cognitive and physical capacity to participate in virtual assessments lasting up to 30 minutes at a time, access to a device and internet connection suitable for videoconferencing, and a caregiver willing to participate in study procedures and provide input on preferences and experiences. Participants complete a standardized series of virtual and in-person upper-limb assessments, wear wrist-worn inertial sensors at home for five days, and contribute caregiver- and child-reported feedback on feasibility, acceptability, and preferences.

Interventions

Upper-Limb Virtual and In-Person Assessment

Participants complete a standardized upper-limb assessment protocol that includes two virtual videoconference assessments-delivered one week apart to evaluate test-retest reliability-and one in-person clinic assessment with the same research therapist to enable within-participant comparison of virtual and in-person scores. After each session, children, caregivers, and therapists complete brief surveys assessing feasibility, ease of completion, acceptability, and preferences.

Participants also wear bilateral wrist-worn inertial sensors for five consecutive days at home to collect continuous data on naturalistic upper-limb activity. Families also provide caregiver-recorded videos of the child performing two preselected meaningful activities in their home environment. These videos are later scored using the Perceived Quality Rating Scale (PQRS) to evaluate individualized functional performance.

Primary outcome measure

  • Feasibility of Virtual Upper-Limb Assessments: Completion Rate of Virtual aROM [ Time Frame: From enrollment through completion of the 2 virtual assessments (approximately 2 weeks). ]
  • Feasibility of Virtual Upper-Limb Assessments: Completion Rate of Virtual Box and Block Test (BBT) [ Time Frame: From enrollment through completion of the 2 virtual assessments (approximately 2 weeks). ]
  • Feasibility of Virtual Upper-Limb Assessments: Completion Rate of Virtual Quality of Upper Extremity Skills Test (QUEST) [ Time Frame: From enrollment through completion of the 2 virtual assessments (approximately 2 weeks). ]
  • Feasibility of Virtual Upper-Limb Assessments: Completion Rate of Virtual SHUEE Spontaneous Functional Analysis (SHUEE-SFA) [ Time Frame: From enrollment through completion of the 2 virtual assessments (approximately 2 weeks). ]
  • Feasibility of Virtual Upper-Limb Assessments: Recruitment and Attrition Metrics [ Time Frame: From enrollment through completion of participation (approximately 3-4 weeks). ]
  • Feasibility of Virtual Upper-Limb Assessments: Ability to Obtain Required Household Materials for Virtual Assessment [ Time Frame: Prior to commencement of virtual assessments (Week 1) ]
  • Feasibility of Virtual Upper-Limb Assessments: Technical, Environmental, Behavioral, and Cognitive Challenges During Virtual Sessions [ Time Frame: During Virtual Assessment 1 and Virtual Assessment 2 (approximately 2 weeks) ]
  • Feasibility of Virtual Upper-Limb Assessments: Duration of Virtual and In-Person aROM [ Time Frame: During Virtual Assessment #1, Virtual Assessment #2 and In-Person Assessment Session #1 (approximately 3 weeks) ]
  • Feasibility of Virtual Upper-Limb Assessments: Duration of Virtual and In-Person BBT [ Time Frame: During Virtual Assessment #1, Virtual Assessment #2 and In-Person Assessment Session #1 (approximately 3 weeks) ]
  • Feasibility of Virtual Upper-Limb Assessments: Duration of Virtual and In-Person QUEST [ Time Frame: During Virtual Assessment #1, Virtual Assessment #2 and In-Person Assessment Session #1 (approximately 3 weeks) ]
  • Feasibility of Virtual Upper-Limb Assessments: Duration of Virtual and In-Person SHUEE-SFA [ Time Frame: During Virtual Assessment #1, Virtual Assessment #2 and In-Person Assessment Session #1 (approximately 3 weeks) ]
  • Acceptability of Virtual aROM (Caregiver and Therapist) [ Time Frame: Immediately after each virtual and in-person assessment (weeks 1-3). ]
  • Acceptability of Virtual Box and Block Test (Caregiver and Therapist) [ Time Frame: Immediately after each virtual and in-person assessment (weeks 1-3). ]
  • Acceptability of Virtual QUEST (Caregiver and Therapist) [ Time Frame: Immediately after each virtual and in-person assessment (weeks 1-3). ]
  • Acceptability of Virtual SHUEE-SFA (Caregiver and Therapist) [ Time Frame: Immediately after each virtual and in-person assessment (weeks 1-3). ]
  • Equivalence of Virtual and In-Person aROM Scores [ Time Frame: Across the two virtual assessments and subsequent in-person assessment (approximately 3 weeks). ]
  • Equivalence of Virtual and In-Person BBT Scores [ Time Frame: Across the two virtual assessments and subsequent in-person assessment (approximately 3 weeks). ]
  • Equivalence of Virtual and In-Person QUEST Scores [ Time Frame: Across the two virtual assessments and subsequent in-person assessment (approximately 3 weeks). ]
  • Equivalence of Virtual and In-Person SHUEE-SFA Scores [ Time Frame: Across the two virtual assessments and subsequent in-person assessment (approximately 3 weeks). ]
  • Test-Retest Reliability of Virtual aROM [ Time Frame: Between Virtual Assessment 1 and Virtual Assessment 2 (1-week interval). ]
  • Test-Retest Reliability of Virtual BBT [ Time Frame: Between Virtual Assessment 1 and Virtual Assessment 2 (1-week interval). ]
  • Test-Retest Reliability of Virtual QUEST [ Time Frame: Between Virtual Assessment 1 and Virtual Assessment 2 (1-week interval). ]
  • Test-Retest Reliability of Virtual SHUEE-SFA [ Time Frame: Between Virtual Assessment 1 and Virtual Assessment 2 (1-week interval). ]
  • Predictors of Feasibility, Acceptability, and Equivalence [ Time Frame: From enrollment through completion of participation (approximately 3-4 weeks). ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Selvi Sert, MEng

416-425-6220ssert@hollandbloorview.ca

Gloria Lee, MSc

416-425-6220glee@hollandbloorview.ca

Locations

Grandview Kids

Recruiting

Ajax, Ontario, Canada, L1T 0R3

Contacts

Shantel Mangroo

437-703-9184shantel.mangroo@grandviewkids.ca

Principal Investigator:

Shannon Knights, MD

Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario

Recruiting

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1H 8L1

Contacts

Research Assistant

613-737-7600ANizam@cheo.on.ca

Research Coordinator

613-737-7600MLarin@cheo.on.ca

Principal Investigator:

Anna McCormick, MD

Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital

Recruiting

Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M4G 1R8

Contacts

Research Coordinator

416-425-6220ssert@hollandbloorview.ca

Research Manager

416-425-6220glee@hollandbloorview.ca

Principal Investigator:

Elaine Biddiss, PhD

More Information

Sponsor

Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital

Last update posted

Feb 17, 2026

Last verified

Feb, 2026

Keywords

  • Virtual assessment
  • Tele-rehabilitation
  • Remote upper limb assessment
  • Virtual care
  • Pediatric rehabilitation

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital on 2026-02-17.