title: Technical developments of functional electrical stimulation to correct drop foot: sensing, actuation and control strategies.
abstract: This work presents a review on the technological advancements over the last decades of functional electrical stimulation based neuroprostheses to correct drop foot. Functional electrical stimulation is a technique that has been put into practice for several years now, and has been shown to functionally restore and rehabilitate individuals with movement disorders, such as stroke, multiple sclerosis and traumatic brain injury, among others. The purpose of this technical review is to bring together information from a variety of sources and shed light on the field's most important challenges, to help in identifying new research directions. The review covers the main causes of drop foot and its associated gait implications, along with several functional electrical stimulation-based neuroprostheses used to correct it, developed within academia and currently available in the market. These systems are thoroughly analyzed and discussed with particular emphasis on actuation, sensing and control of open- and closed-loop architectures. In the last part of this work, recommendations on future research directions are suggested.
authors.affiliation: IDMEC, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1, Sala 1.02, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal; Man-Vehicle Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. Electronic address: paulo.de.melo@tecnico.ulisboa.pt.
authors.forename: P L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Melo
authors.affiliation: IDMEC, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1, Sala 1.02, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: M T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.affiliation: IDMEC, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1, Sala 1.02, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Martins
authors.affiliation: Man-Vehicle Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Newman
mesh_terms: D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000150:complications; D004599:Electric Stimulation Therapy / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D005684:Gait / Q000502:physiology; D020233:Gait Disorders, Neurologic / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000150:complications; D020521:Stroke / Q000150:complications
keywords: Closed-loop control; Drop foot; Functional electrical stimulation; Gait; Neuroprosthesis; Open-loop control