Control of dynamic standing using functional electrical stimulation

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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.