A Hybrid Assistive Paradigm Based on Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation and Force Control for Upper Limb Exosuits

Intensive rehabilitation treatments are crucial to recovering motor functions in patients with neuromuscular diseases. Robotic devices and neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) have shown their efficacy with respect to traditional physiotherapy. Both technologies present complementary features but also limitations due to their working principles. However, merging robots and NMES could overcome their boundaries, providing more patient therapy effort. By pursuing such a hybrid concept, we propose a new device that combines NMES and an upper limb exosuit to assist elbow movements. We tested the designed system on healthy people by evaluating kinematics outcomes and metabolic consumption. The outcomes result in more accuracy and less metabolic consumption by assisting people with the hybrid system than the exosuit and the NMES alone. The ability to seamlessly combine NMES with wearable soft mechatronics can open new avenues for restoring human movement in impaired individuals.