Phase-lead iterative learning control algorithms for functional electrical stimulation-based stroke rehabilitation

A control system for stroke rehabilitation is developed which combines electrical stimulation with a robotic support system to provide assistance to stroke patients performing three-dimensional upper-limb reaching tasks in a virtual reality environment. The electrical stimulation is applied to two muscles in the subject's arm using an iterative learning control scheme which learns from data collected over previous trials of the task in order to achieve accurate movement. The principal components of the system are described and experimental results confirm its feasibility for application to upper-limb stroke rehabilitation.