A Wearable Body Controlling Device for Application of Functional Electrical Stimulation

Abstract

In this research, we describe a new balancing device used to stabilize the rear quarters of a patient dog with spinal cord injuries. Our approach uses inertial measurement sensing and direct leg actuation to lay a foundation for eventual muscle control by means of direct functional electrical stimulation (FES). During this phase of development, we designed and built a mechanical test-bed to develop the control and stimulation algorithms before we use the device on our animal subjects. We designed the bionic test-bed to mimic the typical walking gait of a dog and use it to develop and test the functionality of the balancing device for stabilization of patient dogs with hindquarter paralysis. We present analysis for various muscle stimulation and balancing strategies, and our device can be used by veterinarians to tailor the stimulation strength and temporal distribution for any individual patient dog. We develop stabilizing muscle stimulation strategies using the robotic test-bed to enhance walking stability. We present experimental results using the bionic test-bed to demonstrate that the balancing device can provide an effective sensing strategy and deliver the required motion control commands for stabilizing an actual dog with a spinal cord injury.

A Neuro-Prosthetic Device for Substituting Sensory Functions during Stance Phase of the Gait

“…In this model, ball and socket joints and motor-potentiometer joints can provide rotational movements while rod and bushing joints can provide both rotational and up and down movements. Our test-bed design, based on this mechanism model, provides hindquarter motion and rates that compare accurately with those of an actual dog [19].…”

“…The Arduino calculates the necessary neural stimulation command when data obtained from the IMU indicates falling and, in turn, provides the voltage or charge needed for muscle stimulation. To test this balancing device, we built a bionic test-bed to mimic stimulation responses of dog hindlimbs [19]. This robot had two legs designed based on canine anatomy, with motorized hip and hock joints.…”

“…Since the stimulation strategies during stance and swing phases are different, our balancing device should be programmed to swiftly recognize the stance and swing phase of the gait for each leg. In our previous work [19], we extensively discussed the design of our robotic test-bed and showed the accuracy of the robot in mimicking dog walking gait and the joints' control systems to stimulation commands that resemble the muscle response to stimulation. We also showed two strategies to maintain pelvic equilibrium during the stance phase while the knee joint was fixed.…”

A Technical Review on Development of an Advanced Electromechanical System

“…While many microcontrollers like Arduino [2,31] and Teensy can be embedded in electromechanical devices and work with or without an operating system, in complex systems, an operating system is necessary and plays a significant role in organizing, controlling and managing hardware and software. The tasks of the operating system are management of the processor, memory, device and storage, as well as applications and user interfaces [32].…”

“…Nowadays, mechatronics and electromechanical systems have applications in automated and manufacturing industries [1], medical devices [2,3] and many more. Demand for these systems, which are designed to convert electrical energy to mechanical energy, has dramatically increased.…”