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Functional electrical stimulation

Functional electrical stimulation is a mathematics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Functional electrical stimulation rather than just read about it. In short: Functional electrical stimulation (FES) is a technique that uses low-energy electrical pulses to artificially generate body movements in individuals who have been paralyzed due to injury to the central nervous system. More specifically, FES can be used to generate muscle contraction in otherwise paralyzed limbs to produce functions such as grasping, walking, bladder voiding and standing.

Functional electrical stimulation — main illustration
Functional electrical stimulation — illustration

Key takeaways

  • Functional electrical stimulation belongs to mathematics; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect Functional electrical stimulation to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of Functional electrical stimulation from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Functional electrical stimulation (FES) is a technique that uses low-energy electrical pulses to artificially generate body movements in individuals who have been paralyzed due to injury to the central nervous system. More specifically, FES can be used to generate muscle contraction in otherwise paralyzed limbs to produce functions such as grasping, walking, bladder voiding and standing. This technology was originally used to develop neuroprostheses that were implemented to permanently substitute impaired functions in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI), head injury, stroke and other neurological disorders. In other words, a person would use the device each time he or she wanted to generate a desired function. FES is sometimes also referred to as neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES). FES technology has been used to deliver therapies to retrain voluntary motor functions such as grasping, reaching and walking. In this embodiment, FES is used as a short-term therapy, the objective of which is restoration of voluntary function and not lifelong dependence on the FES device, hence the name functional electrical stimulation therapy, FES therapy (FET or FEST). In other words, the FEST is used as a short-term intervention to help an individual's central nervous system re-learn how to execute impaired functions, instead of making them dependent on neuroprostheses for the rest of their life. Initial Phase II clinical trials conducted with FEST for reaching and grasping, and walking were carried out at KITE, the research arm of the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute.

Principles

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Functional electrical stimulation: Functional electrical stimulation – schematic representation: Illustration of motor neuron stimulation. (a) The cell nucleus is responsible for synthesizing input from dendrites and deciding whether or not to generate signals. Following a stroke or spinal cord injury in mahnoor's muscles are impaired because motor neurons no longer receive sufficient input from the central nervous system. (b) A functional electrical stimulation system injects electrical current into the cell. (c) The intact but dormant axon receives the stimulus and propagates an action potential to (d) the neuromuscular junction. (e) The corresponding muscle fibers contract and generate (f) muscle force. (g) A train of negative pulses is produced. (h) Depolarization occurs where negative current enters the axon at the "active" electrode indicated.
Functional electrical stimulation – schematic representation: Illustration of motor neuron stimulation. (a) The cell nucleus is responsible for synthesizing input from dendrites and deciding whether or not to generate signals. Following a stroke or spinal cord injury in mahnoor's muscles are impaired because motor neurons no longer receive sufficient input from the central nervous system. (b) A functional electrical stimulation system injects electrical current into the cell. (c) The intact but dormant axon receives the stimulus and propagates an action potential to (d) the neuromuscular junction. (e) The corresponding muscle fibers contract and generate (f) muscle force. (g) A train of negative pulses is produced. (h) Depolarization occurs where negative current enters the axon at the "active" electrode indicated.
Functional electrical stimulation: This image describes functional electrical stimulation therapy for walking. The therapy was used to help retrain incomplete spinal cord injured individuals to walk [30,31].
This image describes functional electrical stimulation therapy for walking. The therapy was used to help retrain incomplete spinal cord injured individuals to walk [30,31].

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Functional electrical stimulation

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Functional electrical stimulation claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In mathematics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Functional electrical stimulation before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Functional electrical stimulation ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Functional electrical stimulation

In research
Functional electrical stimulation appears in mathematics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses Functional electrical stimulation in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
Functional electrical stimulation is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Electrotherapy, Neuroprosthetics, Spinal cord injury, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Functional electrical stimulation outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Functional electrical stimulation in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Functional electrical stimulation means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Functional electrical stimulation out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Functional electrical stimulation in simple terms?

Functional electrical stimulation (FES) is a technique that uses low-energy electrical pulses to artificially generate body movements in individuals who have been paralyzed due to injury to the central nervous system. More specifically, FES can be used to generate muscle contraction in otherwise pa…

Why does Functional electrical stimulation matter?

Because it connects several mathematics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Functional electrical stimulation?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Functional electrical stimulation.

Tags

  • Electrotherapy
  • Neuroprosthetics
  • Spinal cord injury

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