An Automatic Identification Procedure to Promote the use of FES-Cycling Training for Hemiparetic Patients

作者：Ambrosini Emilia^*; Ferrante Simona; Schauer Thomas; Ferrigno Giancarlo; Molteni Franco; Pedrocchi Alessandra

来源：Journal of Healthcare Engineering, 2014, 5(3): 275-291.

DOI：10.1260/2040-2295.5.3.275

• Functional electrical stimulation
• cycling
• hemiparesis
• rehabilitation
• stimulation parameters

Cycling induced by Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) training currently requires a manual setting of different parameters, which is a time-consuming and scarcely repeatable procedure. We proposed an automatic procedure for setting session-specific parameters optimized for hemiparetic patients. This procedure consisted of the identification of the stimulation strategy as the angular ranges during which FES drove the motion, the comparison between the identified strategy and the physiological muscular activation strategy, and the setting of the pulse amplitude and duration of each stimulated muscle. Preliminary trials on 10 healthy volunteers helped define the procedure. Feasibility tests on 8 hemiparetic patients (5 stroke, 3 traumatic brain injury) were performed. The procedure maximized the motor output within the tolerance constraint, identified a biomimetic strategy in 6 patients, and always lasted less than 5 minutes. Its reasonable duration and automatic nature make the procedure usable at the beginning of every training session, potentially enhancing the performance of FES-cycling training.

• 出版日期2014-9