Restoring Standing and Stepping after Spinal Cord Injury

Spinal cord injury (SCI) resulting in paralysis has
an enormous impact not only on the health of the
individual, but more fundamentally, on their
independence and self-image. Advancements in
treatment and rehabilitation strategies have lead to
an improvement in the quality of life of these
individuals. Physiological systems and current
rehabilitative devices are presented along with a
series of studies conducted with the goal of
developing functional electrical stimulation (FES)
techniques for restoring standing and stepping after
SCI. Knowledge of natural systems was applied to the
development of physiologically-based control
strategies and stimulation paradigms to achieve this
goal. Intraspinal microstimulation (ISMS) is
highlighted; a centrally applied FES technique which
taps into some of the physiological characteristics
of neuronal recruitment. ISMS results in increased
fatigue resistance and more graded force recruitment
relative to classical peripheral FES techniques. The
studies described here have advanced the development
of a FES system for restoring standing and stepping
after SCI while also providing insight into the
neural control of locomotion.

Autorentext

Lisa Stirling was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She earned a BAScin Electrical Engineering (2002, University of Toronto) and a PhDin Biomedical Engineering (2007, University of Alberta). Her mainresearch interest is in the application of engineering approachesin the fields of rehabilitation and movement science.

Klappentext

Spinal cord injury (SCI) resulting in paralysis hasan enormous impact not only on the health of theindividual, but more fundamentally, on theirindependence and self-image. Advancements intreatment and rehabilitation strategies have lead toan improvement in the quality of life of theseindividuals. Physiological systems and currentrehabilitative devices are presented along with aseries of studies conducted with the goal ofdeveloping functional electrical stimulation (FES)techniques for restoring standing and stepping afterSCI. Knowledge of natural systems was applied to thedevelopment of physiologically-based controlstrategies and stimulation paradigms to achieve thisgoal. Intraspinal microstimulation (ISMS) ishighlighted; a centrally applied FES technique whichtaps into some of the physiological characteristicsof neuronal recruitment. ISMS results in increasedfatigue resistance and more graded force recruitmentrelative to classical peripheral FES techniques. Thestudies described here have advanced the developmentof a FES system for restoring standing and steppingafter SCI while also providing insight into theneural control of locomotion.