REPETETIVE HINDLIMB MOVEMENT USING INTERMITTENT ADAPTIVE NEUROMUSCULAR ELECTRICAL STIMULATION IN AN INCOMPLETE SPINAL CORD INJURY RODENT MODEL

This study explores how electrical stimulation-based movement therapies can improve sensorimotor recovery after incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI). The researchers used an adaptive neuromuscular electrical stimulation (aNMES) system in rats with iSCI to generate hip movements. The aNMES system adjusted the stimulation to control hip movement while accounting for factors like muscle fatigue and spinal reflexes. The rats received intermittent stimulation over several days as they recovered from their injuries. The results showed that aNMES could reliably track the desired hip trajectory with low error, indicating its potential for use in chronic stimulation studies to understand the mechanisms of neuroplasticity in NMES-based repetitive movement therapy.

• 1
  aNMES automatically and reliably tracked the desired hip trajectory with low error during lengthy sessions.
• 2
  Intermittent aNMES accounted for factors influencing NMES response, such as electrode stability, excitability of spinal neural circuitry, muscle fatigue, and spinal reflexes.
• 3
  The aNMES control system could provide reciprocal NMES for multiple sessions over a number of days in rodents with iSCI, without requiring manual tuning.