Engineering approach for functional recovery based on body image adjustment by using biofeedback of electrical stimulation

Abstract

This chapter reports on a biomedical robotic collaborative approach for neuroprosthesis based on body image adjustment. The body image and homunculus show a stable relationship between the brain and a sensor and the motor allocation of the human body. The body schema conceptually explains the relationship between the brain and the body movement. In recent times, a novel concept of functional recovery of motion based on biofeedback to connect the intentions of motion and the sensory input has attracted considerable attention. This chapter describes adaptable EMG prosthetic hand experiments that show that the sensory motor cortex indicates the human intentions of motion through synchronized proprioceptive sensor inputs. This illusion induces strange activities in the sensory motor area according to the synchronous biofeedback. Biofeedback using an interference-driven electrical stimulation (ES) device is proposed, and the experimental results show that the somatic reflex stimulation realizes muscular control and neural rehabilitation in patients with sensor–motor coordination disruption. Furthermore, the proposed device can be applied for the rehabilitation of paralysis due to stroke; it has functions for changing the stimulation parameters and controlling many channels in order to adapt to various types of paralysis and to support complex movements such as grasping, standing, and walking. For neuroprosthesis applications, the desired relationship between the stimulation and intention of motion is synchronous and can be controlled by using an electrical switch to control the ES.