Nerve Stimulator Helps Stroke Sufferers Walk
Implanted device improves movement for people with drop foot
Betterhumans Staff
An implanted nerve stimulator has been developed to help people walk better following stroke.
The stimulator, called STIMuSTEP, corrects walking in drop foot sufferers.
Drop foot is a condition that causes severe walking problems and is often caused by stroke.
Characterized by an inability to raise the foot during the swing phase of walking, drop foot is accompanied by unsafe gait and fatigue that further hinders walking speed and stamina.
Currently, the condition can be treated by fixing the ankle joint with a brace or by applying electrical stimulation to a nerve in the leg through electrodes on the skin.
Electrode placement can be tricky, however, and electrical stimulation can be uncomfortable when it crosses the skin.
Adjustable gait
Using technology developed by UK company FineTech Medical, through work on bladder stimulation, the device is implanted during surgery to produce dual, balanced signals to correct walking action.
The device consists of a small implant, an external controller and a heel-strike sensor.
The stimulator implant targets the two branches of a nerve, the common peroneal nerve, at the point where they split just below the knee. One branch controls the muscles that lift the foot and turn the foot inward while the other affects the muscles that turn the foot outwards.
Clinicians can adjust stimulation parameters for each branch independently to provide as natural a walking gait as possible.
People taking part in a clinical trial of the device are reportedly able to walk better, faster and further with a more normal gait.
FineTech General Manager John Spensley says that team members are now working with surgical groups to promote the benefits of the system and train surgeons to implant the devices.
http://www.betterhumans.com
Betterhumans Staff
An implanted nerve stimulator has been developed to help people walk better following stroke.
The stimulator, called STIMuSTEP, corrects walking in drop foot sufferers.
Drop foot is a condition that causes severe walking problems and is often caused by stroke.
Characterized by an inability to raise the foot during the swing phase of walking, drop foot is accompanied by unsafe gait and fatigue that further hinders walking speed and stamina.
Currently, the condition can be treated by fixing the ankle joint with a brace or by applying electrical stimulation to a nerve in the leg through electrodes on the skin.
Electrode placement can be tricky, however, and electrical stimulation can be uncomfortable when it crosses the skin.
Adjustable gait
Using technology developed by UK company FineTech Medical, through work on bladder stimulation, the device is implanted during surgery to produce dual, balanced signals to correct walking action.
The device consists of a small implant, an external controller and a heel-strike sensor.
The stimulator implant targets the two branches of a nerve, the common peroneal nerve, at the point where they split just below the knee. One branch controls the muscles that lift the foot and turn the foot inward while the other affects the muscles that turn the foot outwards.
Clinicians can adjust stimulation parameters for each branch independently to provide as natural a walking gait as possible.
People taking part in a clinical trial of the device are reportedly able to walk better, faster and further with a more normal gait.
FineTech General Manager John Spensley says that team members are now working with surgical groups to promote the benefits of the system and train surgeons to implant the devices.
http://www.betterhumans.com
posted by Klip7 at
11:15 AM
