A test of multichannel closed-loop FES control on the wrist joint of a hemiplegic patient

The multichannel closed-loop FES control method using PID controllers developed in our research group was found to perform well with neurologically intact subjects in our previous studies. The PID controller could solve the ill-posed problem in the stimulation intensity determination for multichannel control of multi-degrees of freedom of movement. In this paper, the PID control method was examined with a hemiplegic patient. The dorsi/palmar and the radial/ulnar flexions were controlled by stimulating the ECR, the ECU, the FCR and the FCU using surface electrode stimulation. The tracking control of the wrist joints were achieved reasonably at vertical and horizontal positions of the upper limb. The multichannel PID control method would provide a basic technique for multichannel closed-loop FES control.