Apparatus and methods for rehabilitating a muscle and assessing progress of rehabilitation

摘要

Apparatus and methods for rehabilitating a muscle are provided including one or more electrodes configured to be positioned in or adjacent to tissue, one or more sensors configured to sense muscle contraction and to generate a sensor signal based on the muscle contraction, and a pulse generator operatively coupled to the one or more electrodes, e.g., via a lead, and having a controller configured to receive the sensor signal and to adjust the stimulation frequency based on the sensor signal to cause the muscle to contract where muscle contraction is smooth and continuous.

主权项

1. An apparatus for rehabilitating a muscle, the apparatus comprising:
one or more electrodes configured to be positioned in or adjacent to tissue and configured to stimulate the tissue at a stimulation frequency and at a level and duration sufficient to cause the muscle to contract; one or more sensors configured to sense the muscle contraction and to generate a sensor signal based on the muscle contraction; a pulse generator operatively coupled to the one or more electrodes, the pulse generator having a controller configured to receive the sensor signal, wherein the controller is configured to automatically adjust the stimulation frequency based on the sensor signal to or above a measured fusion frequency and to cause the one or more electrodes to stimulate the tissue at or above the measured fusion frequency so as to induce smooth continuous contraction of the muscle, the controller further configured to automatically adjust the stimulation frequency over a course of a therapy to reflect changes in the measured fusion frequency resulting from prior therapeutic stimulation sessions.