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A decision support system for electrode shaping in multi-pad FES foot drop correction

Functional electrical stimulation (FES) can be applied as an assistive and therapeutic aid in the rehabilitation of foot drop. Transcutaneous multi-pad electrodes can increase the selectivity of stimulation; however, shaping the stimulation electrode becomes increasingly complex with an increasing n...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation 2017-07, Vol.14 (1), p.66-66, Article 66
Main Authors: Malešević, Jovana, Dedijer Dujović, Suzana, Savić, Andrej M, Konstantinović, Ljubica, Vidaković, Aleksandra, Bijelić, Goran, Malešević, Nebojša, Keller, Thierry
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Language:English
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Summary:Functional electrical stimulation (FES) can be applied as an assistive and therapeutic aid in the rehabilitation of foot drop. Transcutaneous multi-pad electrodes can increase the selectivity of stimulation; however, shaping the stimulation electrode becomes increasingly complex with an increasing number of possible stimulation sites. We described and tested a novel decision support system (DSS) to facilitate the process of multi-pad stimulation electrode shaping. The DSS is part of a system for drop foot treatment that comprises a custom-designed multi-pad electrode, an electrical stimulator, and an inertial measurement unit. The system was tested in ten stroke survivors (3-96 months post stroke) with foot drop over 20 daily sessions. The DSS output suggested stimulation pads and parameters based on muscle twitch responses to short stimulus trains. The DSS ranked combinations of pads and current amplitudes based on a novel measurement of the quality of the induced movement and classified them based on the movement direction (dorsiflexion, plantar flexion, eversion and inversion) of the paretic foot. The efficacy of the DSS in providing satisfactory pad-current amplitude choices for shaping the stimulation electrode was evaluated by trained clinicians. The range of paretic foot motion was used as a quality indicator for the chosen patterns. The results suggest that the DSS output was highly effective in creating optimized FES patterns. The position and number of pads included showed pronounced inter-patient and inter-session variability; however, zones for inducing dorsiflexion and plantar flexion within the multi-pad electrode were clearly separated. The range of motion achieved with FES was significantly greater than the corresponding active range of motion (p 
ISSN:1743-0003
1743-0003
DOI:10.1186/s12984-017-0275-5