The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 06, 2017
Filed:
May. 26, 2016
Encore Medical Asset Corporation, Vista, CA (US);
Yorick Wijting, Hixson, TN (US);
Jeffrey K. Pohl, Soddy Daisy, TN (US);
Encore Medical Asset Corporation, Vista, CA (US);
Abstract
A method and apparatus for applying neuromuscular electrical stimulation to an agonist/antagonist muscle pair to move a limb about a joint includes generating a first pattern of neuromuscular electrical stimulation pulses for output through a first channel to a first pair of electrodes and generating a second pattern of neuromuscular stimulation pulses for output through a second channel to a second pair of electrodes. The first pair of electrodes are attached to the agonist muscle of the agonist/antagonist muscle pair, and the second pair of electrodes are attached to the antagonist muscle. A first pattern of electrical stimulation pulses is transmitted through the first pair of electrodes to the agonist muscle at a first intensity level to initiate contraction of the agonist muscle, and then at a second intensity level which is less than the first intensity level to continue contraction of the agonist muscle. A second pattern of electrical stimulation pulses is transmitted through the second pair of electrodes to the antagonist muscle at a first intensity level to reduce the acceleration of the limb, and then at a second intensity level which is less than the first intensity level to regulate the movement of the limb.