Warren Dixon

Cycling Device Couples Upper and Lower Limb Movements for Improved Therapeutic Outcomes

This telerobotic functional electrical stimulation hand-cycling system couples arm and leg movements to improve recovery of walking in patients with neuromuscular disorders such as stroke and spinal cord injury. Closed-loop functional electrical stimulation therapy has significant physiological and psychological benefits, including delaying muscle fatigue so that patients can perform the therapy longer. Functional electrical stimulation is a commonly prescribed rehabilitation technique, and the market for devices that facilitate this therapy should reach $615 million by 2025. Other rehabilitation cycling systems use functional electrical stimulation to assist patients with leg movement alone, but therapy that coordinates upper and lower limb movement can increase neural plasticity and lead to faster restoration of walking.

Researchers at the University of Florida have developed a functional electrical stimulation hand-cycling stationary bike that coordinates arm and leg movements, leading to faster restoration of walking in patients with neuromuscular disorders.

Application

Hand-cycling rehabilitation system that couples movements from the upper and lower limbs to decrease recovery time of walking in patients with neuromuscular disorders

Advantages

• Coordinated upper and lower limb movement increases neural plasticity, leading to faster restoration of walking
• Telerobotic system gives patients more control over cycling position and speed, improving patient motivation to continue at-home therapy
• Stimulation of only certain muscle regions delays onset of fatigue, allowing patients to increase the duration of their therapy sessions

Technology

A bilateral teleoperation rehabilitative cycling system that couples upper and lower body movement for faster recovery of walking in patients with neuromuscular disorders. This rehabilitative system has both a hand and leg cycle. The hand-cycle is driven by the patient’s efforts alone, and the leg-cycle is driven by a combination of the patient’s efforts, functional electrical stimulation, and the motor. The leg-cycle is linked to the hand-cycle with a sensor so that the patient can control the position and speed of the leg-cycle using the hand-cycle. The system can also be connected to a remote therapist who can control the FES-actuated leg-cycle using either a hand or leg cycle.