Abstract
In this study, we present the experimental results demonstrating the functionality of our recently developed “balancing device” for walking restoration in patients with spinal cord injuries. Since we are preparing this device for testing on dogs, we program the analytical core of the device to recognize both stance and swing phases of the dog gait, the direction that the dog is falling, as well as selecting a suitable balancing strategy to prevent falling. The analytical core of the device is a commercial microcontroller, the Teensy, which is able to provide suitable stimulation commands and intensities as a voltage for delivery to the stimulation circuit and target muscles. We show the functional schematic of the device along with experimental results obtained by testing the device in a simulated robotic dog. Results show that the sensory system of the animal lost by spinal cord injury can be replaced by the sensing core of the device and the analytical core can provide appropriate stimulation control to balance the body of a dog. All test results are obtained using our robot test-bed and living animals are not involved in this study.
Highlights
One application is in electrical stimulation of nerve tissues and body organs which is important in neuroscience both in understanding the mechanisms of neuronal activity and animal behavior and as a tool for treatment of central and peripheral nervous system disease [4]
We show that our device can recognize which limb is at the stance/swing phase and identify the active and identify the active limb needed to receive stimulation based on a selected strategy
To develop our new balancing device, we propose that both gait phases can be controlled by and stimulate muscle nerves based on data from normal joint angles of the gait to force the leg to electrical stimulation to restore walking
Summary
A Background on Functional Electrical Stimulation Devices and Application of Sensors in Gait Event. One application is in electrical stimulation of nerve tissues and body organs which is important in neuroscience both in understanding the mechanisms of neuronal activity and animal behavior and as a tool for treatment of central and peripheral nervous system disease [4]. FES may have an analytical and stimulation core to gather data from sensors and actively control the electrical charge delivered to muscles using electrodes [8]. Different FES systems utilize different sensors and different timing control methods depending on the moving function the device aims to assist or replace and the remaining abilities of patient after neural injuries. Accelerometers, gyroscopes, and force-sensitive resistors are common sensors that are utilized in FES systems
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