eTIPS is an early therapy approach in perinatal stroke, supporting parents to encourage their baby's movements from an early age and within the first 6 months of life. The materials on this website were developed and used in a pilot feasibility study. The paper summarising this study is available open access at Feasibility trial of an early therapy in perinatal stroke (eTIPS) | BMC Neurology | Full Text (biomedcentral.com).

Below we list the inclusion and exclusion criteria related to infant eligibility, that we used for the pilot trial. You should discuss these with your healthcare professional before considering whether the materials may be useful for you. Please also see the disclaimer below.

Inclusion criteria for infants:

Term or preterm infants who sustained a predominantly unilateral stroke (arterial ischaemic, haemorrhagic or haemorrhagic periventricular venous infarction) demonstrated on cranial imaging and identified within the first 3 months of life

Exclusion criteria for infants:

a) Additional significant medical diagnoses which would render the therapy inappropriate or outcomes uninterpretable in relation to the therapy, e.g. known progressive or neurodegenerative disorder or severe visual impairment

b) Evidence of significant bilateral intracerebral motor pathology (i.e. both sides of the brain significantly affected)

c) Strokes shown radiologically to affect only occipital, prefrontal or temporal areas of the brain (which would not be expected to produce adverse motor outcomes)

d) Ongoing involvement in another research study where this was likely to interfere with the interpretation of either study. 

Why are there two eTIPS websites?

We created one website (this one) for infants at risk of developing left sided weakness and a separate one for infants at risk of developing right sided weakness. This was to make the instructions as easy as possible for families.

Disclaimer:

• The eTIPS materials are academic research outputs and are educational in nature. The eTIPS materials are not medical advice and should not be interpreted as such. Medical advice should be taken from your doctor or healthcare provider.

• The eTIPS materials are supplied “as is” with no warranties of any kind, express or implied, including any warranty of merchantability, non-infringement or fitness for a particular purpose or that they are free from any third party claims.

• Newcastle University shall accept no liability in contract, tort or otherwise resulting from your use of the eTIPS materials.

By proceeding to access this site I agree that

• I have read the criteria for use and disclaimer above

• I have checked the criteria for use with my healthcare professional.

• I am aware that there are two websites. Materials on the eTIPS LEFT website were designed to encourage infants to increase the use of their LEFT arm and hand, following a stroke on the right side of the brain. Materials on the eTIPS RIGHT website were designed to encourage infants to increase the use of their RIGHT arm and hand, following a stroke on the left side of the brain.