A programmable and portable NMES device for drop foot correction and blood flow assist applications.
The Duo-STIM, a new, programmable and portable neuromuscular stimulation system for drop foot correction and blood flow assist applications is presented. The system consists of a programmer unit and a portable, programmable stimulator unit. The portable stimulator features fully programmable, sensor-controlled, constant-voltage, dual-channel stimulation and accommodates a range of customized stimulation profiles. Trapezoidal and free-form adaptive stimulation intensity envelope algorithms are provided for drop foot correction applications, while time dependent and activity dependent algorithms are provided for blood flow assist applications. A variety of sensor types can be used with the portable unit, including force sensitive resistor-based foot switches and MEMS-based accelerometer and gyroscope devices. The paper provides a detailed description of the hardware and block-level system design for both units. The programming and operating procedures for the system are also presented. Finally, functional bench test results for the system are presented.
Breen
Paul P
PP
Department of Electronic Engineering, National University of Ireland, Galway, Galway, Ireland.
Corley
Gavin J
GJ
O'Keeffe
Derek T
DT
Conway
Richard
R
Olaighin
Gearóid
G
D000465:Algorithms; D003196:Computer Graphics; D034201:Computers, Handheld; D004599:Electric Stimulation Therapy / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D004566:Electrodes; D004867:Equipment Design; D005528:Foot / Q000473:pathology*; D020233:Gait Disorders, Neurologic / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006801:Humans; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012984:Software; D013813:Therapy, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D014584:User-Computer Interface