Abstract:

In this paper, a contralateral surface electromyography controlled functional electrical stimulation system was designed for upper limb motor functional rebuilding. The proposed system utilized the decoding method based on threshold and refractory period and the principle of sensor and communication. Because the output stimulus pattern was transformed from the recorded volitional sEMG activity, the system could make the force generated by stimulated limb trace the recorded limb’s motion. The prototype also had traditional FES function with surface electrode stimulation and electro-acupuncture stimulation output interfaces. The proposed system was tested in healthy subjects and the measured results illustrated that the extension torques generated by stimulated and recorded wrist joints were similarly same (correlation coefficient was 0.925 4 and RMSE was 0.184 3). The experimental results showed that the prototype could enable the volunteers to complete the reconstruction of the wrist extension function, indicating that the prototype system had important clinical significance for the rehabilitation of upper limbs.

Key words: hemiplegia, functional electrical stimulation, stroke, surface electromyography, contralateral controlled, surface electrode stimulation, electro-acupuncture stimulation