FES-controlled Co-contraction Strategies for Pathological Tremor Compensation

In this paper, a strategy for pathological tremor compensation based on co-contraction of antagonist muscles induced by Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) is presented. Although one of the simplest alternatives to apply FES for reducing the effects of tremor, the contribution of different co-contraction levels for joint motion and impedance must be accurately estimated, specially since tremor itself is highly time-varying. In this work, a detailed musculoskeletal model of the human wrist actuated by flexor and extensor muscles is used for this purpose. The model takes into account different properties that affect muscle dynamics, such as proprioceptive feedback and combined natural and artificial activation. The model, analysis of stiffness modulation clue to FES-controlled co-contraction and simulation results are presented in the paper.