A Comparative Study on Control Strategies for FES Cycling Using a Detailed Musculoskeletal Model

Although advances in technology promoted new physiotherapy approaches for rehabilitation, there is still an urge for equipment and techniques to improve quality of life for patients with motor disabilities. Functional Electrical Stimulation Cycling (FES Cycling) is an example of this type of technology, in which we control stimulation parameters to enable a spinal cord injured person to ride a bicycle. The presented research proposes a new detailed musculoskeletal platform using OpenSim to test and develop control strategies. With this platform, we were able to compare performance of four control techniques in transient and steady states.