Ambulation by traumatic T4-12 paraplegics using functional neuromuscular stimulation

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Biomedical Engineering
• Rehabilitation Medicine

Background:

• Traumatic complete thoracic-level paraplegia presents significant mobility challenges.
• Functional Neuromuscular Stimulation (FNS) offers a potential solution for restoring ambulation.
• Various FNS approaches exist, each with distinct characteristics and user populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review and discuss the current status of major FNS approaches for ambulation in paraplegics.
• To compare different FNS systems based on available user data and population size.
• To analyze ambulation performance, patient training, and medical/physiological/psychological evaluation data.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of published literature on FNS for paraplegic ambulation.
• Focus on hybrid body bracing with FNS, percutaneous FNS, fully implanted FNS, and transcutaneous FNS.
• Analysis of methodologies, system descriptions, ambulation performance, training, and multi-user evaluation data.

Main Results:

• Discussion of FNS systems with the most available user data and largest user populations.
• Comparative analysis of ambulation performance and patient-training aspects across different FNS approaches.
• Synthesis of medical, physiological, and psychological evaluation data where available.

Conclusions:

• The review provides a comprehensive overview of FNS technologies for paraplegic ambulation.
• It highlights the strengths and weaknesses of different FNS systems based on empirical evidence.
• This synthesis aids in understanding the current landscape and future directions for FNS in restoring mobility.