INTRODUCTION One important reason why functional electrical stimulation (FES) has not gained widespread clinical use is the limitation imposed by rapid muscle fatigue due to non-physiological activation of the stimulated muscles. We aimed to show that asynchronous low-pulse-rate (LPR) electrical stimulation applied by multipad surface electrodes greatly postpones the occurrence of muscle fatigu...

BACKGROUND Functional electrical stimulation (FES) has been found to be effective in restoring voluntary functions after spinal cord injury (SCI) and stroke. However, the central nervous system (CNS) changes that occur in as a result of this therapy are largely unknown. OBJECTIVE To examine the effects of FES on the restoration of voluntary locomotor function of the CNS in a SCI rat model. ...

A hybrid system including trunk-hip-knee-anklefoot (THKAFO) orthosis and multi-channel functional electrical stimulation with implanted electrodes has been designed for walking in paraplegia. The THKAFO has been instrumented with commercially available spring wrap clutches at the hips and knees. Clutches provide free movement in extension and allow flexion only when they are disengaged by solen...

Severe atrophy of skeletal muscles occurs during long-term permanent denervation (LTPD). We studied 14 human muscle biopsies taken from patients suffering lower motoneuron denervation from 2 to 30 years. Patients were treated with Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) for different periods of time (0.5 to 6 years). We describe new gel electrophoresis analyses, which allow to quantify protein ...

A major limitation of many functional electrical stimulation (FES) applications is that muscles tend to fatigue very rapidly. It was hypothesized that FES-induced muscle fatigue could be reduced by randomly modulating the pulse frequency, amplitude, and pulse width in a range of +/-15%. Seven subjects with spinal-cord injuries participated in this study. FES was applied to quadriceps and tibial...

The purpose of this study was to develop a functional electrical stimulation (FES) system based on the motor driving concept for use by spinal cord injury patients participating in the FES Cycling competition at the Cybathlon 2016. The proposed FES system consists of a low-power control system, a precise processor unit, and a 4-channel stimulation unit. Self-adhesive carbon conductive electrode...

Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) provides a neuroprosthetic interface to non-recovered muscle groups by stimulating the affected region of the human body. FES in combination with Brain-machine interfacing (BMI) has a wide scope in rehabilitation because this system directly links the cerebral motor intention of the users with its corresponding peripheral muscle activations. In this paper...

Loss of the ability to move, as a consequence of spinal cord injury or neuromuscular disorder, has devastating consequences for the paralyzed individual, and great economic consequences for society. Functional electrical stimulation (FES) offers one means to restore some mobility to these individuals, improving not only their autonomy, but potentially their general health and well-being as well...