Impact of an implanted neuroprosthesis on community ambulation in incomplete SCI

Objective: Test the effect of a multi-joint control with implanted electrical stimulation on walking after spinal cord injury (SCI).Design: Single subject research design with repeated measures.Setting: Hospital-based biomechanics laboratory and user assessment of community use.Participants: Female with C6 AIS C SCI 30 years post injury.Interventions: Lower extremity muscle activation with an implanted pulse generator and gait training.Outcome Measures: Walking speed, maximum distance, oxygen consumption, upper extremity (UE) forces, kinematics and self-assessment of technology.Results: Short distance walking speed at one-year follow up with or without stimulation was not significantly different from baseline. However, average walking speed was significantly faster (0.22 m/s) with stimulation over longer distances than volitional walking (0.12 m/s). In addition, there was a 413% increase in walking distance from 95 m volitionally to 488 m with stimulation while oxygen consumption and maximum upper extremi...