A Human-machine-interface Integrating Low-cost Sensors with a Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation System for Post-stroke Balance Rehabilitation

A stroke is caused when an artery carrying blood from heart to an area in the brain bursts or a clot obstructs the blood flow to brain thereby preventing delivery of oxygen and nutrients. About half of the stroke survivors are left with some degree of disability. Innovative methodologies for restorative neurorehabilitation are urgently required to reduce long-term disability. The ability of the nervous system to reorganize its structure, function and connections as a response to intrinsic or extrinsic stimuli is called neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity is involved in post-stroke functional disturbances, but also in rehabilitation. Beneficial neuroplastic changes may be facilitated with non-invasive electrotherapy, such as neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) and sensory electrical stimulation (SES). NMES involves coordinated electrical stimulation of motor nerves and muscles to activate them with continuous short pulses of electrical current while SES involves stimulation of sensory nerves with electrical current resulting in sensations that vary from barely perceivable to highly unpleasant. Here, active cortical participation in rehabilitation procedures may be facilitated by driving the non-invasive electrotherapy with biosignals (electromyogram (EMG), electroencephalogram (EEG), electrooculogram (EOG)) that represent simultaneous active perception and volitional effort. To achieve this in a resource-poor setting, e.g., in low- and middle-income countries, we present a low-cost human-machine-interface (HMI) by leveraging recent advances in off-the-shelf video game sensor technology. In this paper, we discuss the open-source software interface that integrates low-cost off-the-shelf sensors for visual-auditory biofeedback with non-invasive electrotherapy to assist postural control during balance rehabilitation. We demonstrate the proof-of-concept on healthy volunteers.