Development of an extensible, wireless framework for personalized muscle rehabilitation

Abstract

Hemiparesis is progressive muscle weakness in one half of the body, commonly observed in traumatic brain injury or stroke patients. Usually, physiotherapists design in-person assistive exercises to restore muscle strength and range of motion for affected side of the patient. Alternatively, functional electrical stimulation (FES) devices have also been used, though the equipment is expensive, non-portable, and provides limited configurability for personalized rehabilitation. This paper presents a low-cost, open architecture framework that enables: a) Remote programming of muscle stimulation routine by therapist; b) Delivery of FES sequence to patient wirelessly, and c) Provide quantitative feedback (through Electromyogram (EMG)) on dynamics of exercised muscle with progressive rehabilitation of the patient. The extensible framework overcomes the major drawback of expensive, closed commercial systems, thereby allowing integration of multiple sensors to monitor muscle function. Rehabilitation efficacy feedback will allow an opportunity to personalize rehabilitation and increase patient compliance.