FES device for gait rehabilitation
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A pilot study to characterise kinematic walking deficits and to compare between functional electrical stimulation (FES) application and non-FES in patients with CNS disorders.
IRAS ID
311472
Contact name
AMJ Bull
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Imperial College London JRCO
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Walking disabilities derived from neurological insults, such as stroke, are often treated with physiotherapy and surgical interventions. Even though some patients may show improvements with these treatments or even complete recovery, others will have permanent disabilities and their independence to do daily activities may be compromised. For instance, one of the leading causes of death and disability in the world is stroke. In 2019, over 13.6 million people in the world suffered a stroke and over 80 million are currently living with sequelae. From the survivor population, two-thirds present motor gait impairments and 30% won’t be able to walk independently after 6 months of the event. Now, 70% of patients that regain the ability to walk independently would have to wear an assistive orthosis for residual motor impairments and keep attending physical rehabilitation.
The persistence in walking disabilities, even after the initial rehabilitation, has raised a need to develop medical devices to aid the physiotherapy process of the patients. Since 1970, Functional Electrical Stimulation has been used to stimulate the ankle muscles and aid the foot drop syndrome recovery. However, knee hyperextension and leg circumduction atypical gait patterns are not currently targeted by the FES technology. Hence, we are going to further apply FES to muscles in the thigh and the calf and compare between non-FES results.
The aim of this study is to characterise the kinematic deficits for patients diagnosed with CNS disorders (e.g., MS, SC injuries or stroke) and use musculoskeletal modelling to compare the effects of non-FES and FES outcomes. FES intend is to be paired with physiotherapy exercises to increase lower limb muscles neuroplasticity and walking speed.
REC name
South Central - Hampshire A Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/SC/0151
Date of REC Opinion
4 May 2022
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion