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The development of Functional Muscle Stimulation to assist walking.
FESTIVAL project.
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This
is a project looking at the problems that many people with MS face when
they have footdrop. Footdrop is weakness at the ankle making it difficult
to bend the foot up. This causes problems, especially when walking as
the person has difficulty clearing the ground and starts to trip up
or even fall over. They also have to compensate for the inability to
bend at the ankle by such methods as hitching their hip, using a walking
aid or use of a splint to hold the ankle in a manageable position. The
project involves the development of a Functional Electrical Stimulation
(FES) device - a small muscle stimulator worn on the leg that will pull
the foot up by stimulating the weakened muscle. This was achieved through
electrodes placed over the affected muscle. This device is unique in
that it can be triggered either by a pressure sensor worn in the shoe
or by using the actual messages (EMG) that the muscle produces when
it tries to move. The FES device can be programmed to stimulate the
weak muscle at the correct time during walking to prevent tripping.
Many volunteers, both here and at a rehabilitation centre in Belgium
have used the devices which were tested extensively and the information
collected was used at each stage of development throughout the duration
of the project. The FES device is also being used by physiotherapists
during treatment sessions to assist with the retraining of walking and
this is proving to be very useful. We hope that this device will be
available commercially in the near future.
This project is being developed in collaboration with the Medical Electronics
Group in Bristol Univeristy's Faculty
of Engineering.