Research Highlights

The amount of research on developing exoskeletons for human gait assistance has been growing in the recent years. However, the control design of exoskeletons for assisting human walking remains unclear.

Implantable microsystems that collect and transmit neural data are becoming very useful entities in the field of neuroscience. Limited by high data rates, on-chip compression is often required to transmit the recorded data without causing power dissipation at levels that would damage sensitive brain tissue.

This paper aims to develop a knowledge base and identify the promising research pathways toward designing lower limb prostheses for optimal biomechanical and clinical outcomes.

Variations in biofeedback coding schemes for postural control, in recent research, have shown significant differences in performance outcomes due to variations in coding schemes.

Knowledge of human–exoskeleton interaction forces is crucial to assess user comfort and effectiveness of the interaction. The subject-exoskeleton collaborative movement and its interaction forces can be predicted in silico using computational modeling techniques.

Predictive simulation based on dynamic optimization using musculoskeletal models is a powerful approach for studying human gait. Predictive musculoskeletal simulation may be used for a variety of applications from designing assistive devices to testing theories of motor control. However, the underlying cost function for the predictive optimization is unknown and is generally assumed a priori.

In recent years, the variety of textile electrodes developed for electrophysiological signal detection has increased rapidly. Among the applications that could benefit from this advancement, those based on surface electromyography (sEMG) are particularly relevant in rehabilitation, training, and muscle function assessment. In this work, we validate the performance of polymer-based screen-printed textile electrodes for sEMG signal detection.

Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) has enabled motor recovery in paraplegics with motor complete spinal cord injury (SCI). However, the physiological mechanisms underlying this recovery are unknown. This paper analyzes muscle synergies in two motor complete SCI patients under SCS during standing and compares them with muscle synergies in healthy subjects, in order to help elucidate the mechanisms that enable motor control through SCS.

Overactive bladder (OAB) patients suffer from a frequent urge to urinate, which can lead to a poor quality of life. Current neurostimulation therapy uses open-loop electrical stimulation to alleviate symptoms. Continuous stimulation facilitates habituation of neural pathways and consumes battery power. Sensory feedback-based closed-loop stimulation may offer greater clinical benefit by driving bladder relaxation only when bladder contractions are detected, leading to increased bladder capacity.