Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Reactive Stepping With Functional Neuromuscular Stimulation In Response To Forward-Directed Perturbations, Alexander J. Hunt, Brooke M. Odle, Lisa M. Lombardo, Musa L. Audu, Ronald J. Triolo

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: Implanted motor system neuroprostheses can be effective at increasing personal mobility of persons paralyzed by spinal cord injuries. However, currently available neural stimulation systems for standing employ patterns of constant activation and are unreactive to changing postural demands. Methods: In this work, we developed a closed-loop controller for detecting forward-directed body disturbances and initiating a stabilizing step in a person with spinal cord injury. Forward-directed pulls at the waist were detected with three body-mounted triaxial accelerometers. A finite state machine was designed and tested to trigger a postural response and apply stimulation to appropriate muscles so as to produce …