Development of the Novel Control Device with Functional Electrical Stimulation for Gait Training System

• Main Authors: Chia-cheng Ho, 何家成
• Other Authors: Kuen-Horng Tsai
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/81425488285606319826

碩士 === 國立臺南大學 === 系統工程研究所產碩專班 === 97 === Gait recovery is an important indicator in rehabilitation for patients with disabled lower limbs. Most current clinical gait training techniques adopt the Motor Learning Theory, which states that best therapeutic results can be achieved through continuous motion, particularly when the motion itself has functional meaning. Functional daily motion is the most efficient way to rehabilitate patients with neurological damage. Gait training is a traditional clinical treatment whereby physical therapists guide patients to walk on flat ground. However, therapists must often support the patient’s weight, which is difficult given the patient’s loss of strength, unstable physical condition, and lack of motivation to learn. Particularly in the critical treatment stage of the first three to six months, therapists have difficulty in correcting some small movements that may potentially lead to a patient’s independent walking. Therefore, current gait training does not meet the needs of effective clinical treatment. Patients using functional electrical stimulation (FES) have been able to improve motor function in the lower limbs, even though they cannot fully recover the full motor function. Therefore, using FES combined with gait training, through the continuous mimicking of normal daily motion, should help spinal cord injury patients to achieve higher efficacy in rehabilitation and increase in quality of life. This paper researches the control device necessary to combine FES and gait training. With the ability to combine the advantages of FES with gait training, this research shall hopefully be useful in the development of future treatment models. Physical therapists can use this control device to further their understanding of human gait characteristics. The purpose of this research is to provide researchers with the ability to identify issues, propose solutions, and design new treatment concepts to ultimately create novel and highly effective treatment models.