Mitigation of Fatigue Induced Effects in Skeletal Muscle Through Closed-Loop Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation

神经肌肉电刺激（NMES）是由临床医生规定的，以帮助恢复患有运动障碍的人的肌肉的力量，大小和功能，以改善日常生活的活动和活动。该奖项的研究目标是通过开发新的闭环刺激方法，通过补偿或延迟肌肉疲劳的发作来延长刺激的应用，从而改善NMES治疗的康复效果。该研究方法从NMES控制器的开发中取得进展，该控制器可以补偿肌肉力量产生减少和肌肉反应性降低。开发的控制器将在设计中嵌入刺激协议，指示如何改变刺激的强度和频率以减少疲劳。这些成果包括一类闭环控制方法、稳定性分析工具、通过人体受试者测试进行的演示、研究结果的文档记录以及工程专业学生教育。如果成功，这项研究的结果将有可能通过补偿和/或延迟肌肉疲劳的发作来延长NMES疗法的剂量。通过长时间刺激产生精确肢体运动的能力实现的更长的康复疗程可以加速患有中风、脊髓损伤、多发性硬化症、创伤性脑损伤等引起的运动障碍的人的康复。为补偿肌肉中降低的可控性效应和延迟响应而开发的数学和分析工具也可以抽象为其他工程应用，例如网络系统，遥控机器人和容错能力研究成果将通过跨大西洋学位联盟项目进行转移，该项目专注于培养能够与医生和外科医生合作开发创新医疗实践的工程师和科学家。研究挑战将用于教育研究生和本科生，并制定解决方案将通过出版物，会议演示和研讨会传播。

Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation (NMES) is prescribed by clinicians to aid in the recovery of strength, size, and function of the muscles of people suffering from movement disorders to enable improved mobility and activities of daily living. The research objective of this award is to enable improved rehabilitative outcomes of the NMES treatment by developing new closed-loop stimulation methods that prolong the application of stimulation by compensating for or delaying the onset of muscle fatigue. The research approach progresses from the development of NMES controllers that can compensate for diminished muscle force production and decreased responsiveness of the muscle. Developed controllers will embed a stimulation protocol in the design that indicates how to vary the intensity and frequency of stimulation to reduce fatigue. Deliverables include a class of closed-loop control methods, stability analysis tools, demonstration through human subject testing, documentation of research results, and engineering student education.If successful, the results of this research will have the potential to enable prolonged dosage of NMES therapies by compensating for and/or delaying the onset of muscle fatigue. Longer rehabilitation sessions enabled by the ability to yield accurate limb motion from prolonged stimulation can speed the rehabilitation of people with movement disorders caused by stroke, spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury, etc. The mathematics and analysis tools developed to compensate for decreasing controllability effects and delayed response in muscles can also be abstracted to other engineering applications such as networked systems, telerobotics, and fault tolerance. Research outcomes will be transitioned through a transatlantic degree consortium project focused on developing engineers and scientists who can work with physicians and surgeons to develop innovative medical practice. The research challenges will be used to educate graduate and undergraduate students, and developed solutions will be disseminated through publications, conference presentations, and workshops.