Control System Design For Electrical Stimulation In Upper Limb Rehabilitation

This book presents a comprehensive framework for model-based electrical stimulation (ES) controller design, covering the whole process needed to develop a system for helping people with physical impairments perform functional upper limb tasks such as eating, grasping and manipulating objects. The book first demonstrates procedures for modelling and identifying biomechanical models of the response of ES, covering a wide variety of aspects including mechanical support structures, kinematics, electrode placement, tasks, and sensor locations. It then goes on to demonstrate how complex functional activities of daily living can be captured in the form of optimisation problems, and extends ES control design to address this case. It then lays out a design methodology, stability conditions, and robust performance criteria that enable control schemes to be developed systematically and transparently, ensuring that they can operate effectively in the presence of realistic modelling uncertainty, physiological variation and measurement noise.

This book presents a comprehensive framework for model-based electrical stimulation (ES) controller design, covering the whole process needed to develop a system for helping people with physical impairments perform functional upper limb tasks such as eating, grasping and manipulating objects. The book first demonstrates procedures for modelling and identifying biomechanical models of the response of ES, covering a wide variety of aspects including mechanical support structures, kinematics, electrode placement, tasks, and sensor locations. It then goes on to demonstrate how complex functional activities of daily living can be captured in the form of optimisation problems, and extends ES control design to address this case. It then lays out a design methodology, stability conditions, and robust performance criteria that enable control schemes to be developed systematically and transparently, ensuring that they can operate effectively in the presence of realistic modelling uncertainty, physiological variation and measurement noise.

Iterative learning control (ILC) has its origins in the control of processes that perform a task repetitively with a view to improving accuracy from trial to trial by using information from previous executions of the task. This brief shows how a classic application of this technique – trajectory following in robots – can be extended to neurological rehabilitation after stroke. Regaining upper limb movement is an important step in a return to independence after stroke, but the prognosis for such recovery has remained poor. Rehabilitation robotics provides the opportunity for repetitive task-oriented movement practice reflecting the importance of such intense practice demonstrated by conventional therapeutic research and motor learning theory. Until now this technique has not allowed feedback from one practice repetition to influence the next, also implicated as an important factor in therapy. The authors demonstrate how ILC can be used to adjust external functional electrical stimulation of patients’ muscles while they are repeatedly performing a task in response to the known effects of stimulation in previous repetitions. As the motor nerves and muscles of the arm reaquire the ability to convert an intention to move into a motion of accurate trajectory, force and rapidity, initially intense external stimulation can now be scaled back progressively until the fullest possible independence of movement is achieved.

This book illustrates the rapid pace of development in intelligent assistive technology in recent years, and highlights some salient examples of using modern IT&C technologies to provide devices, systems and application software for persons with certain motor or cognitive disabilities. The book proposes both theoretical and practical approaches to intelligent assistive and emergent technologies used in healthcare for the elderly and patients with chronic diseases. Intelligent assistive technology (IAT) is currently being introduced and developed worldwide as an important tool for maintaining independence and high quality of life among community-living people with certain disabilities, and as a key enabler for the aging population. The book offers a valuable resource for students at technical, medical and general universities, but also for specialists working in various fields in which emergent technologies are being used to help people enjoy optimal quality of life.

The two-volume set LNCS 12615 + 12616 constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Intelligent Human Computer Interaction, IHCI 2020, which took place in Daegu, South Korea, during November 24-26, 2020. The 75 full and 18 short papers included in these proceedings were carefully reviewed and selected from a total of 185 submissions. The papers were organized in topical sections named: cognitive modeling and systems; biomedical signal processing and complex problem solving; natural language, speech, voice and study; algorithms and related applications; crowd sourcing and information analysis; intelligent usability and test system; assistive living; image processing and deep learning; and human-centered AI applications.

This book is dedicated to Prof. Peter Young on his 70th birthday. Professor Young has been a pioneer in systems and control, and over the past 45 years he has influenced many developments in this field. This volume comprises a collection of contributions by leading experts in system identification, time-series analysis, environmetric modelling and control system design – modern research in topics that reflect important areas of interest in Professor Young’s research career. Recent theoretical developments in and relevant applications of these areas are explored treating the various subjects broadly and in depth. The authoritative and up-to-date research presented here will be of interest to academic researcher in control and disciplines related to environmental research, particularly those to with water systems. The tutorial style in which many of the contributions are composed also makes the book suitable as a source of study material for graduate students in those areas.

Though there have been many developments in sensory/motor prosthetics, they have not yet reached the level of standard and worldwide use like pacemakers and cochlear implants. One challenging issue in motor prosthetics is the large variety of patient situations, which depending on the type of neurological disorder. To improve neuroprosthetic performance beyond the current limited use of such systems, robust bio-signal processing and model-based control involving actual sensory motor state (with biosignal feedback) would bring about new modalities and applications, and could be a breakthrough toward adaptive neuroprosthetics. Recent advances of Brain Computer Interfaces (BCI) now enable patients to transmit their intention of movement. However, the functionality and controllability of motor prosthetics itself can be further improved to take advantage of BCI interfaces. In this Research Topic we welcome contribution of original research articles, computational and experimental studies, review articles, and methodological advances related to biosignal processing that may enhance the functionality of sensory motor neuroprosthetics. The scope of this topic includes, but is not limited to, studies aimed at enhancing: 1) computational biosignal processing in EMG (Electromyography), EEG (Electroencephalography), and other modalities of biofeedback information; 2) the computational method in modeling and control of sensory motor neuroprosthetics; 3) the systematic functionality aiming to provide solutions for specific pathological movement disorders; 4) human interfaces such as BCI - but in the case of BCI study, manuscripts should be experimental studies which are applied to sensory/motor neuroprosthetics in patients with motor disabilities.