Wireless control of functional electrical stimulation systems.
With the assistance of crutches and functional electrical stimulation (FES), we are able to restore standing and simple gait in some spinal cord injured (SCI) patients. In present rehabilitative systems, the patient divides the gait cycle into stance and swing phases via pushbuttons mounted on the handles of the crutches, which are hardwired to the functional electrical stimulator. The surface-mount technology based telemetry system, which makes use of the radiofrequency medium at 40 MHz, was developed to provide wireless control of the FES system. Signals from crutch pushbuttons were coded and transferred from the transmitter to the receiver. The receiver was firmly attached to the patient's waist and was connected to the stimulator.
Matjacić
Z
Z
Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Munih
M
M
Bajd
T
T
Kralj
A
A
Benko
H
H
Obreza
P
P
D003446:Crutches; D004599:Electric Stimulation Therapy / Q000295:instrumentation; D005684:Gait / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D013686:Telemetry