Table 1.

Summary of completed computer-based clinical trials on post-stroke aphasia

Reference	Trial ID	Design	Patients	Interventions	Main results
Kesav P et al. J Neurol Sci 2017; 380:137–141 [15]	Clinical Trials registry India 2016/08/0120121	Prospective open randomized, controlled trial with blinded endpoint evaluation.	20	• Group A: less intensive (12 therapy sessions of conventional professional-based SLT) • Group B: more intensive (12 therapy sessions of conventional professional-based SLT + 12 h of computer-based SLT)	• Less intensive worked better, but authors still recommend using computer-based
Grechuta K et al. Stroke 2019; 50:1270–1274 [16]	NCT02928822	Randomized, controlled, parallel-group trial	17	• Control group (N=8): standard treatment • Experimental group (N=9): augmented embodied therapy with the Rehabilitation Gaming System for aphasia.	• Both groups significantly improved on the BDAE and on the lexical access-vocabulary test. • Only the Rehabilitation Gaming System for aphasia group improved on the CAL and showed therapy-induced improvements in language and communication at 16 weeks of follow-up.
Palmer R et al. Lancet Neurol. 2019; 18: 821–33 [17]	ISRCTN68798818	Pragmatic, superiority, three-arm, individually randomized, single-blind, parallel-group trial.	278	• Control group: 6 months of usual care (usual care group) • CSLT Group: Daily self-managed CSLT plus usual care • Attention control plus usual care: paper-based puzzle book activities (e.g., sudoku, spot the difference, word searches, or coloring) on a daily basis.	• CSLT plus usual care resulted in a clinically significant improvement in personally relevant word finding but did not result in an improvement in conversation.
Cherney LR et al. Clin Rehabil 2021; 35: 976–987 [18]	NCT04413136	Single-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial	32	• Experimental treatment (N=19): Web ORLA (Oral Reading for Language in Aphasia) • Control group (N=13): a commercially available computer game. Both groups were instructed to practice 90 min/day, 6 days/week for 6 weeks.	• No significant difference in the gain from pre-treatment to post-treatment between groups. • The Web ORLA group showed significantly greater gains at the 6-week follow-up than the control group.
Spaccavento S et al. J Communication Disorders 2021:106158 [19]	NA	Pilot randomized non-inferiority study	22	• Experimental group: computer-based • Control group: therapist-mediated aphasia treatment Both groups received one 50-min session for 5 days per week over a period of 8 weeks.	• Participants in both groups improved in language skills, functional communication, and quality-of-life measures from pre- to post-treatment • No significant differences between groups.
Elhakeem ES et al. The Egyptian J Otolaryngology 2021; 37:77 [20]	NCT04717180	Randomized controlled trial with blinded endpoint evaluation	50	• Group I: 48 sessions using the Arabic software program • Group II: 48 sessions of conventional Therapy	• Significant improvement from the baseline in both groups. • No significant difference in post-therapy results between groups except for some secondary items, whereas group I showed more significant improvement (phrase length, melodic line, word-finding relative to fluency, paraphasia, repetition, responsive naming, Boston naming test)

BDAE Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination, CAL Communicative Activity Log, CSLT Computer-based Speech and Language Therapy, NA not available, SLT Speech and Language Therapy

Sources: https://clinicaltrials.gov [search terms (Post-stroke aphasia) AND (computer); filters: completed] and PubMED [(computer-based) AND (therapy) AND (stroke) AND (aphasia)]. Last search conducted on October 30, 2021