Control of dynamic standing using functional electrical stimulation

有神经损伤的人，如脊髓损伤或中风，由于肌肉瘫痪，手臂和/或腿的运动受到损害。然而，我们可以使用电脉冲来刺激这些肌肉，以产生肌肉收缩，并创造各种肢体运动，以促进行走和站立等功能性活动。在这个项目中，我的目标是通过模仿人们使用肌肉的方式来设计一种用于人工控制站立的电刺激模式，目的是让患有脊髓损伤的人骑上赛格威个人运输车，这是一种以站立姿势操作的个人车辆(http://www.segway.ca).在第一个项目中，我将调查健康人如何乘坐赛格威，并设计一个控制器来控制腿部关节的受力。当健康人乘坐赛格威时，我会测量他们的身体运动。基于这些发现，我将设计一个控制器来监控赛格威上骑手的身体运动，并以适当的方式修改关节力。该控制器将在计算模拟中进行测试。在第二个项目中，将研究有效刺激腿部肌肉的最佳电刺激技术。由于肌肉的数量比腿部关节的数量多得多，所以有各种方法可以使一个关节施加一定的力。因此，控制腿部肌肉施加给定关节力的最佳方法将通过实验和计算进行研究。在第三个项目中，将设计一个控制关节力和肌肉活动的原型，并将进行计算和实验测试。该项目将创造一种装置，用于电刺激腿部瘫痪患者的腿部肌肉，使他们能够站立和骑赛格威。这将为这些患者提供一种非常有益的辅助技术，这将在未来提高他们的生活质量。此外，还将获得与电刺激下的身体运动和肌肉生理学相关的多项工程和科学成果。此外，该项目将培养两名博士后、一名博士后研究员和十名本科生，他们将在加拿大促进生物工程。

People with neurological injuries such as spinal cord injury or stroke have impaired movements of their arms and/or legs due to paralyzed muscles. However, we can stimulate those muscles using electrical impulses to generate muscle contractions and create various limb movements to facilitate functional activities such as walking and standing. In this program, I aim to design a pattern of electrical stimulation for the artificial control of standing by mimicking the way people use their muscles, with the aim of a person with an SCI riding on a Segway Personal Transporter, a personal vehicle that is operated in a standing posture (http://www.segway.ca). In the first project, I will investigate how healthy people ride on the Segway and design a controller for controlling leg joints' force. I will measure body movements when the healthy people ride on the Segway. Based on the findings, I will design a controller that monitors body movements of a rider on the Segway and modify the joint force in an appropriate manner. The controller will be tested in a computational simulation. In the second project, the best electrical stimulation technology will be investigated to effectively stimulate leg muscles. As the number of muscles is much larger than the number of leg joints, there are various ways to make one joint exert a certain force. Thus, the best way to control leg muscles to exert a given joint force will be investigated experimentally and computationally. In the third project, a prototype controlling the joint force and muscle activities will be designed and will be computationally and experimentally tested. This program will create a device for electrically stimulating leg muscles of people with paralysis in their leg, which will allow them to stand and ride the Segway. This will provide a highly beneficial assistive technology for those patients, which, in future, will improve their quality of life. Additionally, multiple engineering and scientific outcomes will be obtained, related to body movements and muscle physiology under electrical stimulation. Further, this program will train two Ph.D. students, a Postdoctoral Fellow, and ten undergraduate students who will promote bioengineering in Canada.