Development of a novel FES control system based on treadmill motor current variation for gait rehabilitation of hemiplegic patients after stroke

Abstract

In consideration of a large proportion of stroke survivors with persistent deficits, current interventions have limited ability to restore normal motor function. We propose a gait training system for gait rehabilitation of hemiplegic patients with convalescent stroke. It consists of a functional electrical stimulation (FES) device which is used to influence the gait pattern instantly to improve the quality of the gait, and a treadmill with two separated belts. The stimulus triggers from the FES could be controlled automatically by the subject's gait phase determination, including stance phase and swing phase. Gait phase could be estimated and recognized through observing current value variation of the treadmill motor during the subject's walking on the treadmill belts. In this paper, we have preliminarily tested the feasibility of the proposed method through hemiplegic simulation experiments. Also, Tibialis Anterior (TA) and quadriceps on the hemiplegic side were successfully stimulated by the expected FES stimuli during gait.