Control of FES-assisted gait training after stroke using inertial sensors

Abstract

An inertial sensor mounted on the foot of the affected body side represents an alternative to traditional foot switches in Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES)-assisted gait rehabilitation systems. Besides being used to detect gait phases, the inertial sensor can be used to estimate orientation and linear position of the foot. In this paper we describe a practical system for FES-assisted gait training based on inertial sensors where the electrical stimulation is triggered by the gait phase detection. Furthermore, the maximal angle between foot and ground obtained from the inertial sensor was used as feedback on a step to step basis for controlling the stimulation intensity of the tibialis anterior. The feasibility of this control concept was experimentally proven for one drop foot patient