Optimisation of electrode placement for abdominal muscle stimulation

Gollee, H. and Henderson, G. (2010) Optimisation of electrode placement for abdominal muscle stimulation. In: 15th Annual Conference of the International FES Society, Vienna, Austria, 8-12 Sep 2010,

Abstract

High level tetraplegic individuals have partial or complete paralysis of their breathing muscles, leading to respiratory complications. Functional electrical stimulation of the abdominal wall muscles through surface electrodes can improve respiratory function. In this study the aim was to fi nd the optimum number and position of the electrodes for abdominal stimulation, based on the response to a stimulation burst. Effectiveness of abdominal stimulation was judged by the resulting movement of the abdominal wall which was measured using a piezoelectric belt worn around the abdomen. Pairs of stimulation channels were applied bilaterally in three different positions: anterior, lateral and posterior. In addition to the response to stimulation of single channel pairs, combinations of anterior & lateral and lateral & posterior channels were evaluated, resulting in fi ve different settings. Experiments were conducted with 10 able bodied individuals. Results show that (i) overall the combination of lateral & posterior channels resulted in the strongest response, (ii) in most subjects, the lateral channels resulted in a comparable response to the stimulation of two channel pairs, and (iii) in some subjects the strongest response was obtained from the anterior channel pair. This suggests that the optimal electrode placement may dependent on individual factors such as body shape and composition.

• Item Type: Conference Proceedings
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Gollee, Dr Henrik
• Authors: Gollee, H., and Henderson, G.
• Subjects: R Medicine > R Medicine (General)
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Systems Power and Energy; College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Biomedical Engineering

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