a Biomechanical comparison of Proportional electromyography control to Biological Torque control Using a Powered hip exoskeleton

 

For your doctor to determine if this could help you. That does assume your doctor and stroke hospital are keeping up with research.

a Biomechanical comparison of Proportional electromyography control to Biological Torque control Using a Powered hip exoskeleton

 
June 2017 | Volume 5 | Article 37
1ORIGINAL RESEARCH
published: 30 June 2017doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2017.00037Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology | www.frontiersin.org
 Edited by:
 Jan Veneman, Tecnalia, Spain
 Reviewed by:
Laurent Simon, New Jersey Institute of Technology, United States Fausto Antonio Panizzolo, Harvard University, United States
*Correspondence:
 Aaron J. Young  aaron.young@me.gatech.edu
Specialty section:
This article was submitted to Bionics and Biomimetics,  a section of the journal Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology
 Received:
 08 July 2016
 Accepted:
 06 June 2017
 Published:
 30 June 2017
Citation:
Young AJ, Gannon H and Ferris DP (2017) A Biomechanical Comparison of Proportional Electromyography Control to Biological Torque Control Using a Powered Hip Exoskeleton. Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol. 5:37. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2017.00037
 A Biomechanical Comparison of Proportional Electromyography Control to Biological Torque Control Using a Powered Hip Exoskeleton
 Aaron J. Young 1*, 

Hannah Gannon 2 

and Daniel P. Ferris  2,3
1  Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, United States,
 2  Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States,
3  School of Kinesiology, University of Michigan,  Ann Arbor, MI, United States
Background:
 Despite a large increase in robotic exoskeleton research, there are few studies that have examined human performance with different control strategies on the same exoskeleton device. Direct comparison studies are needed to determine how users respond to different types of control. The purpose of this study was to compare user performance using a robotic hip exoskeleton with two different controllers: a controller that targeted a biological hip torque profile and a proportional myoelectric controller.
Methods:
 We tested both control approaches on 10 able-bodied subjects using a pneu-matically powered hip exoskeleton. The state machine controller targeted a biological hip torque profile. The myoelectric controller used electromyography (EMG) of lower limb muscles to produce a proportional control signal for the hip exoskeleton. Each subject performed two 30-min exoskeleton walking trials (1.0 m/s) using each controller and a 10-min trial with the exoskeleton unpowered. During each trial, we measured subjects’ metabolic cost of walking, lower limb EMG profiles, and joint kinematics and kinetics (torques and powers) using a force treadmill and motion capture.
Results:
 Compared to unassisted walking in the exoskeleton, myoelectric control significantly reduced metabolic cost by 13% (p= 0.005) and biological hip torque control reduced metabolic cost by 7% (p=0.261). Subjects reduced muscle activity relative to the unpowered condition for a greater number of lower limb muscles using myoelectric control compared to the biological hip torque control. More subjects subjectively preferred the myoelectric controller to the biological hip torque control.
Conclusion:
 Myoelectric control had more advantages (metabolic cost and muscle activity reduction) compared to a controller that targeted a biological torque profile for walking with a robotic hip exoskeleton. However, these results were obtained with a single exoskeleton device with specific control configurations while level walking at a single speed. Further testing on different exoskeleton hardware and with more varied experimental protocols, such as testing over multiple types of terrain, is needed to fully elucidate the potential benefits of myoelectric control for exoskeleton technology.

Effect of long-term use of ankle-foot orthoses on tibialis anterior muscle electromyography in patients with sub-acute stroke: A randomized controlled trial

I would disagree with the conclusion. Long term use of an AFO will affect your muscle recovering its intended function.  Use it or lose it as your doctor will tell you. 

Peter Levine does a much better explanation of prolonged AFO use;

AFO after stroke: Once its on there, its on there for life.

But you can't listen to anyone but your doctor. 

The latest here:

Effect of long-term use of ankle-foot orthoses on tibialis anterior muscle electromyography in patients with sub-acute stroke: A randomized controlled trial

Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine (formerly the Scandinavian Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine) , Volume 51(1) , Pgs. 11-17.

NARIC Accession Number: J81525.  What's this?
ISSN: 1650-1977.
Author(s): Nikamp, Corien; Buurke, Jaap; Schaake, Leendert; van der Palen, Job; Rietman, Johan; Hermens, Hermie.
Publication Year: 2019.
Number of Pages: 7.
Abstract: Study examined the effects of long-term use of ankle-foot orthoses (AFOs) after stroke and whether early or later provision of AFOs affects muscle activity. Twenty-six subjects with unilateral hemiparetic stroke were assigned randomly to either early (at inclusion; week 1) or delayed (8 weeks later; week 9) provision of AFOs. Tibialis anterior electromyography was measured with and without AFOS in weeks 1, 9, 17 and 26. In a single measurement, use of an AFO significantly reduced the activity levels of the tibialis anterior muscle during the swing phase compared with walking without an AFO. During the 26-week follow-up, no changes were found in tibialis anterior muscle activity in the swing phase without an AFO, both within-groups and between-groups. After 26 weeks, no differences were found in tibialis anterior muscle activity between both groups in the swing phase, with or without AFOs. This study found that AFO use reduced muscle activity levels compared with walking without an AFO within 1 measurement. However, long-term use of an AFO for a period of 26 weeks did not affect muscle activity. Early or delayed provision of ankle-foot orthoses did not affect the findings. This study did not find any negative effects on activity of the tibialis anterior muscle with long-term use of an AFO early after stroke. The results indicate that there is no need to fear negative consequences on tibialis anterior-activity because of long-term AFO-use (early) after stroke.
Descriptor Terms: ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY, EARLY INTERVENTION, ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY, LIMBS, MUSCLES, ORTHOTICS, OUTCOMES, STROKE.


Can this document be ordered through NARIC's document delivery service*?: Y.
Get this Document: https://www.medicaljournals.se/jrm/content/abstract/10.2340/16501977-2498.

Citation: Nikamp, Corien, Buurke, Jaap, Schaake, Leendert, van der Palen, Job, Rietman, Johan, Hermens, Hermie. (2019). Effect of long-term use of ankle-foot orthoses on tibialis anterior muscle electromyography in patients with sub-acute stroke: A randomized controlled trial.  Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine (formerly the Scandinavian Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine) , 51(1), Pgs. 11-17. Retrieved 9/17/2019, from REHABDATA database.
 

Electroencephalogram–Electromyography Coupling Analysis in Stroke Based on Symbolic Transfer Entropy

No fucking clue what this is or can be used for.
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2017.00716/full?

Yunyuan Gao¹, Leilei Ren¹, Rihui Li^2,3 and Yingchun Zhang^1,2,3*

• ¹College of Automation, Intelligent Control & Robotics Institute, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou, China
• ²Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, TX, United States
• ³Guangdong Provincial Work-Injury Rehabilitation Hospital, Guangzhou, China

The coupling strength between electroencephalogram (EEG) and electromyography (EMG) signals during motion control reflects the interaction between the cerebral motor cortex and muscles. Therefore, neuromuscular coupling characterization is instructive in assessing motor function. In this study, to overcome the limitation of losing the characteristics of signals in conventional time series symbolization methods, a variable scale symbolic transfer entropy (VS-STE) analysis approach was proposed for corticomuscular coupling evaluation. Post-stroke patients (n = 5) and healthy volunteers (n = 7) were recruited and participated in various tasks (left and right hand gripping, elbow bending). The proposed VS-STE was employed to evaluate the corticomuscular coupling strength between the EEG signal measured from the motor cortex and EMG signal measured from the upper limb in both the time-domain and frequency-domain. Results showed a greater strength of the bi-directional (EEG-to-EMG and EMG-to-EEG) VS-STE in post-stroke patients compared to healthy controls. In addition, the strongest EEG–EMG coupling strength was observed in the beta frequency band (15–35 Hz) during the upper limb movement. The predefined coupling strength of EMG-to-EEG in the affected side of the patient was larger than that of EEG-to-EMG. In conclusion, the results suggested that the corticomuscular coupling is bi-directional, and the proposed VS-STE can be used to quantitatively characterize the non-linear synchronization characteristics and information interaction between the primary motor cortex and muscles.

A complex study of the movement biomechanics in patients with post-stroke hemiparesis

I'm sure your therapist can explain exactly how this will be used to help your recovery.
http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=26831537

Résumé / Abstract

The authors present results of a pilot study on biomechanics of non-cyclic movements of the human consequent verticalization in the ontogenesis of patients with post-stroke hemiparesis (10 patients in the acute stage of cerebral stroke) and 10 healthy volunteers without neurologic and orthopedic pathology. Some movements of therapeutic exercises Balance (a model of ontogenetic kinesitherapy) have been selected for the study. Cinematic parameters have been recorded using a system of motion 3D video analysis, a kinematic model was build in accordance to standard protocols. The skin (native and straightened) electromyogram (EMG) was recorded synchronously with kinematic data using 16-channel electromyography from the following pairs of muscles: mm. sternocleido-mastoideus, trapezius (??горизонтаʌьная пория), biceps brachii, triceps brachii, rectus femoris, adductor magnus. Major differences in the EMG picture between patients and controls were: 1) the EMG «monotony» with the involvement of multiple additional muscles in locomotions with the prevalence of the peculiar «tonic» muscle activity (low amplitudes without distinct peaks), stretching along the whole cycle of movement. In controls, EMG demonstrated variability and had mostly «phasic» character with distinct 1 or 2 peaks; 2) the asymmetry of EMG profile in symmetric movements. i.e. when performed simultaneously from the right and from the left sides. The latter feature may be considered as predictive because it was never found in healthy people. It allows to identify objectively weak muscles even in the absence of visible parethis during the routine neurological examination.