title: What are the electrical stimulation design parameters for maximum VO2 aimed at cardio-pulmonary rehabilitation?
abstract: Electrical Stimulation (ES) is increasingly being considered as a means to improve cardio-pulmonary performance in patients with reduced exercise capacity. This short review considers the ES signal parameters and protocols used in studies that have included a measurement of oxygen uptake during the session. It suggests that the tetanic signal parameters normally used for muscle strengthening are not suitable for producing a sustained increase in oxygen uptake. Instead, very low frequencies are preferred, perhaps because there is less fatigue of the type 1 muscle fibers.
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Research Ltd and the UCD School of Electrical, Electronic and Mechanical Engineering, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, Ireland. minogue@bmr.ie
authors.forename: Conor M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Minogue
authors.forename: Brian M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Caulfield
authors.forename: Richard B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Reilly
mesh_terms: D004558:Electric Stimulation; D004867:Equipment Design; D015444:Exercise; D005080:Exercise Test; D006801:Humans; D007537:Isometric Contraction; D007866:Leg / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000473:pathology; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D018763:Muscle Fatigue; D053580:Muscle Strength; D010100:Oxygen / Q000378:metabolism*; D010101:Oxygen Consumption; D010807:Physical Endurance
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen