Residual capabilities of hemiplegic patients to restore hand functions via a non-invasive functional electrical stimulation system

Control strategies are the chief attraction in the field of rehabilitation engineering, and especially in a functional electrical stimulation (FES) system, a reliable control method is important for paralyzed patients to restore lost their functions. In this paper, we have presented a demonstration of the control strategy, which is based on the patient-driven loop, used in a non-invasive FES system for hand function restoration. With the patient-driven loop control, hemiplegic patients could use their residual capabilities, such as shoulder movements in their sound extremities, the myoelectric signals generated from different muscles, etc, to operate the FES system. Here we have chosen the most common and acceptable signals as the input sources, i.e. electromyographic (EMG) signals, to control a non-invasive FES system, generating the electrical stimuli to excite the paralyzed muscles. In addition, EMG signals recorded by the sensors in the electrical stimulator can serve both as the trigger of the system and as the adjustment of the electrical stimulation parameters, thereby improving the system's performance and reliability. From the experimental results, subjects can successfully use their residual capabilities to control the FES system and restore their lost hand functions as well. On the other hand, from the viewpoints of rehabilitation and psychology, hemiplegics will benefit greatly by using their residual capabilities to regain their lost functions. It is believed that the patient-driven loop control is very useful, not only for the FES system in this study, but also for other assistive devices. By the control strategy proposed in this paper, we deeply hope that patients will benefit greatly and regain their self-confidence.