PERSONALISED APPROACH TO RESTORATION OF ARM FUNCTION IN PEOPLE WITH HIGH-LEVEL TETRAPLEGIA

This project aims to develop efficient methods for personalising assistive technology to restore arm function in people with high-level spinal cord injury. We will use a combination of electrical stimulation to elicit forces in muscles no longer under voluntary control, and mobile arm supports to compensate for insufficient muscle force where necessary. We will use computational models specific to an individual's functional limitations to produce patient-specific interventions. The project will be in three phases: building a model to predict the effects of electrical stimulation on a paralysed arm with arm support, development of methodologies using this model to optimise the arm support and stimulation system, and testing of stimulation controllers designed using this approach. The project brings together experts in biomechanics and musculoskeletal modelling, spinal cord injury rehabilitation and assistive technologies.