Design of Programmable Transcutaneous Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation System and Its Primary Experimental Study / 航天医学与医学工程

ABSTRACT

Objective To develop a programmable neuromuscular electrical stimulation system as a potential countermeasure for muscle atrophy in long-term microgravity.Methods The system was mainly composed of a controllable constant current pulse generator,wires and skin electrodes.To meet the requirements of stimulating recipes selection,the stimulating parameters could be adjusted independently and the combinatorial output of different stimulating phases should also be achieved.Results The system worked well with high accuracy outputs.The sensation,contraction,tetany and pain thresholds of all the 5 waveforms stimulating signals were measured.For different stimulating waveforms,thresholds of each state were different and the subjective sensations induced by same stimulating amplitude were dissimilar.Conclusion The developed system providing powerful programmable and accurate stimulating signals,is convenient for the selection and verification of stimulating recipes and can be used as an instrument platform for study of electrical stimulation to prevent muscle atrophy in microgravity.Volunteer experiments have proved its validation for function of muscle contraction and provide primary basses for the optimization of stimulating recipes.