Low-cost personalised instrumented clothing with integrated FES electrodes for upper limb rehabilitation

带有集成 FES 电极的低成本个性化仪器服装，用于上肢康复

• 批准号: MR/N027841/1
• 负责人: Kai Yang
• 金额: $ 115万
• 依托单位: University of Southampton
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2016 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=MR%2FN027841%2F1
• 关键词: Low; cost; personalised; instrumented; clothing

Stroke is the leading cause of adult disability in the UK. Every year 150,000 strokes occur and 54,000 of these fail to regain upper limb function, resulting in yearly personal and societal care costs of £5.5bn. These numbers will increase with the aging population; by 2040 the number of people over 65 is expected to grow by 67%. The government has termed this situation 'a ticking time bomb' and has called for innovative technology that Persons with Stroke (PwS) can use in their own homes.Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) of muscles is a technology that has been shown to help PwS re-learn lost skills by enabling them to practice and regain lost arm movement, and in-so-doing create new nerve connections in their brain. FES works by stimulating muscles with electrical pulses via electrodes placed on the skin. Unfortunately, commercial FES systems are not suitable for intensive daily use as they are rigid and uncomfortable, and not able to assist PwS in performing the necessary precise movements because only a limited number of muscles are stimulated. In our previous research we have developed a prototype FES array on a conventional wearable fabric enabling the FES to be worn as normal clothing to achieve rehabilitation. The FES array thus is flexible, breathable and comfortable to wear, and can be scaled up to cover as many muscles as are needed. A range of precise hand functions including pinching, pointing and hand opening have been achieved by stimulating an optimised selection of electrode elements in the array. The stimulation is controlled using advanced software called "iterative learning control" which mimics the way the brain learns new skills. This controller can potentially achieve highly accurate movement by learning the optimal stimulation pattern over multiple attempts at a task.Our project will use printing to fabricate customised FES garments to precisely fit the individual's arm and specific needs. The customised FES array design will be generated by scanning the arm using a commercial 3D scanner and processing the image using software developed in this project. Each FES array will be printed on standard everyday fabric and then integrated into a piece of clothing (e.g. cuff/armband, sleeve, long sleeved T-shirt). The resulting garment will be very comfortable to wear and convenient to use every day. The FES clothing will be operated using a wireless control system combined with sensors which automatically adjust the FES to enable precise activities, such as assisting eating, washing and dressing. We will work closely with an expert user group consisting of PwS and their carers, FES engineers and healthcare professionals to produce a detailed device specification. This will provide the device requirements in terms of comfort, robustness, stimulation function and cost criteria. Following development, the device will be tested against this specification and refined throughout the project to ensure it fully meets the needs of PwS. Our technology will bring affordable, effective physical therapy into the homes of PwS, allowing them to practice goal-orientated functional activities at home without needing a carer or therapist. It thereby increases the intensity of rehabilitation without an increase in clinical contact time. This will lead to better outcomes, such as reduced impairment, greater restoration of function, improved quality of life and increased social activity. This in turn will translate to greater independence leading to less dependence on carers, and the possibility of return to work. The first application of the technology will be with PwS with upper limb impairments followed by those with lower limb impairments. The technology can also potentially be further applied to treat other neurological conditions such as spinal cord injuries and multiple sclerosis.

中风是英国成人残疾的主要原因。每年有15万人中风，其中5.4万人未能恢复上肢功能，导致每年的个人和社会护理费用为55亿英镑。这些数字将随着人口老龄化而增加;到2040年，65岁以上的人数预计将增长67%。政府将这种情况称为“定时炸弹”，并呼吁中风患者（PwS）可以在自己家中使用创新技术。肌肉功能性电刺激（FES）技术已被证明可以帮助PwS重新学习失去的技能，使他们能够练习和恢复失去的手臂运动，并在大脑中创建新的神经连接。FES的工作原理是通过放置在皮肤上的电极用电脉冲刺激肌肉。不幸的是，商业FES系统不适合于密集的日常使用，因为它们是刚性的和不舒服的，并且不能帮助PwS执行必要的精确运动，因为只有有限数量的肌肉被刺激。在我们以前的研究中，我们已经开发了一个原型FES阵列上的传统的可穿戴织物，使FES作为正常的衣服穿，以实现康复。因此，FES阵列是柔性的、透气的和佩戴舒适的，并且可以按比例放大以覆盖所需的尽可能多的肌肉。通过刺激阵列中电极元件的优化选择，已经实现了一系列精确的手部功能，包括捏、指和手张开。刺激是使用称为“迭代学习控制”的高级软件控制的，该软件模仿大脑学习新技能的方式。该控制器可以通过多次尝试任务来学习最佳刺激模式，从而实现高度精确的运动。我们的项目将使用打印来制造定制的FES服装，以精确地适应个人的手臂和特定需求。定制的FES阵列设计将通过使用商业3D扫描仪扫描手臂并使用本项目开发的软件处理图像来生成。每个FES阵列将被打印在标准的日常织物上，然后集成到一件衣服中（例如袖口/臂章、袖子、长袖T恤）。由此产生的服装将非常舒适的穿着和方便每天使用。FES服装将使用无线控制系统与传感器相结合进行操作，该传感器自动调整FES以实现精确的活动，例如辅助进食，洗涤和穿衣。我们将与由PwS及其护理人员、FES工程师和医疗保健专业人员组成的专家用户组密切合作，以制定详细的设备规格。这将提供舒适性、稳健性、刺激功能和成本标准方面的器械要求。开发完成后，该设备将根据本规范进行测试，并在整个项目中进行完善，以确保其完全满足PwS的需求。我们的技术将为PwS的家庭带来负担得起的，有效的物理治疗，使他们能够在家里练习以目标为导向的功能活动，而不需要护理人员或治疗师。因此，它增加了康复的强度，而不增加临床接触时间。这将导致更好的结果，例如减少损伤，更大程度地恢复功能，提高生活质量和增加社会活动。这反过来又将转化为更大的独立性，从而减少对护理人员的依赖，并有可能重返工作岗位。该技术的首次应用将是上肢损伤的PwS，其次是下肢损伤的PwS。该技术还可能进一步应用于治疗其他神经系统疾病，如脊髓损伤和多发性硬化症。

项目成果

Wearable Electrical Stimulation to Improve Lymphatic Function

可穿戴电刺激改善淋巴功能

• DOI: 10.1109/lsens.2019.2893478
• 发表时间: 2019
• 期刊: IEEE Sensors Letters
• 影响因子: 2.8
• 作者: Wei Y

Design and Test of E-Textiles for Stroke Rehabilitation

用于中风康复的电子纺织品的设计和测试

• DOI: 10.3390/engproc2023030016
• 发表时间: 2023
• 作者: Liu M

Multichannel Biphasic Muscle Stimulation System for Post Stroke Rehabilitation

用于中风后康复的多通道双相肌肉刺激系统

• DOI: 10.3390/electronics9071156
• 发表时间: 2020
• 期刊: Electronics
• 影响因子: 2.9
• 作者: Ward T

Durability Testing of Knitted E-Textiles and Design of a User-Friendly E-Sleeve for Stroke Arm and Hand Rehabilitation

针织电子纺织品的耐久性测试以及用于中风手臂和手部康复的用户友好型电子袖的设计

• DOI: 10.3390/engproc2023052018
• 发表时间: 2024
• 作者: Liu M

Exploring stroke patient's expectations for upper limb motor recovery and barriers to achieving those expectations

探索中风患者对上肢运动恢复的期望以及实现这些期望的障碍

• 发表时间: 2018
• 作者: Meadmore K