Present state and prospects in the design of multichannel FES stimulators for gait correction in paretic patients.

Use of multichannel electrical stimulators (MES) for the rehabilitation of patients with plegic or paretic extremity muscles in one of the most promising trends in rehabilitation. Two clinically oriented therapeutic stimulators are described. The aim and the realization of walking rate dependent functioning, gradually modulated stimulation sequences, mini-computer and hardware closed-loop control of stimulation amplitude are described. The difficulties arising from the poor interface between the technical and biological part of the system prevent the described stimulators from being used as orthotic devices. Experiments with three types of electrodes are given, and the problem of an excessive mounting time for most clinical environments is also stressed.