TETRAGRIP II - Usability Trial of an FES Orthosis for People With Tetraplegia.

Summary

Functional Electrical Stimulation is an established technique in which small electrical impulses are used to cause a contraction in muscles and thereby enable movement, in people with neurological or musculoskeletal problems who are unable to undertake those movements themselves. People with spinal cord injuries of the neck at C5, C6 and C7 account for 35% of all spinal cord injuries. Despite this, there is only one commercial FES (Functional Electrical Stimulation) based orthosis currently available. Even that has limitations in that it as it has a single size rigid exoskeleton it does not fit all people who could benefit and also due to its rigidity it does not allow people with lower injuries to utilise any remaining tenodesis grip. As a result, it is not widely used within the spinal injured communities. Therefore what is required is a more flexible system that can benefit a larger number of people whilst still being affordable within the constraints of the NHS. A previous INSPIRE funded project, TETRAGRIP I demonstrated that a surface FES system controlled by an inertial sensor, measuring movement of the opposite shoulder, could meet this specification and was successfully tried on two people with tetraplegia. What is now required is a more detailed study in which the principle components of that system are incorporated into a practical device suitable for use at home without clinical supervision. It is therefore proposed to develop and build such a system and to conduct extended home based trials in three people with tetraplegia.

Conditions

• Spinal Cord Injuries
• Tetraplegia

Interventions

DEVICE

TetraGrip II system

This main aim of this whole research project is to evaluate the performance of the TetraGrip II system in improving the upper limb functions in people with C4-C7 tetraplegia i.e. people who have damaged their spinal cord in the neck resulting in loss of function in all four limbs. The Tetragrip system uses a technique called Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) in which small electrical impulses are used to activate paralysed muscles and hence provide movement. The stimulation is controlled by sensors which measure the movement of the other shoulder and enable the person to regain the use of their hand via stimulating electrodes placed on the skin over the relevant muscles. The feasibility of using this FES based system in restoring the upper arm functions will be evaluated by clinically trying the device on participants with C4-C7 tetraplegia.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust

  collaborator OTHER_GOV

• Bournemouth University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Ian Swain, Professor · Professor in Technology & Design

• Paul Taylor, Professor · Consultant Clinical Scientist - Salisbury District Hospital

Study Design

Allocation

NON_RANDOMIZED

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

NONE

Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

90 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2021-10-26

Primary Completion

2022-08-31

Completion

2022-08-31

Countries

• United Kingdom

Study Locations