Controlled Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) in the Rehabilitation of Spinal Cord Injured Persons and Stroke Patients

Electrical nerve-stimulation of paralysed muscles can be used to generate muscle contractions. In combination with appropriate sensor technology and feedback control, this can be exploited to elicit functional movements, such as walking and cycling [18, 19]. Depending on the degree of disability, the goal may be temporary assistance, e.g. during re-learning of gait, or permanent replacement of lost motor functions (neuro-prostheses). In the context of control, the most challenging aspects are the interaction between FES and voluntary muscle activity [20] and the complexity of neuro-musculoskeletal systems. Another challenge is that for certain tasks as, e.g., walking or grasping, control has to cope with discrete changes of otherwise continuous dynamics caused by interaction with the environment.