Equine therapy is a therapeutic tool used to treat different motor disorders whose post-treatment improvements have been demonstrated but never analyzed during the sections on the horse. Many processes such as Time Up and Go (TUG), gait, center of pressure, among others, were analyzed in a qualitative way, only affirming an improvement of motor control. In order to analyze the evolution of the patient during training, we intend to quantify their performance using a biomedical instrument (actimeter) developed for the kinematic analysis of head displacement and tilt rate using a sensor with accelerometer and gyroscope. Nine volunteers were evaluated during two equine therapy sessions in horse walk pace. The x, y and z axes of both sensors were conditioned and processed in order to obtain mean and RMS values, as well as the mean of inter- and intra-volunteer groups. It was possible to observe a significant difference between the disabled patients and the non-disabled ones, which presented numerically greater results in all the comparisons, denoting that they have less stability than trained individuals and also quantifying these differences between disabled and non-disabled subjects.

(1) Background: The Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS) is commonly used clinically to evaluate spasticity, but its qualitative nature introduces subjectivity. We propose a novel metric scale to quantitatively measure spasticity using mechanomyography (MMG) to mitigate these subjective effects. (2) Methods: The flexor and extensor muscles of knee and elbow joints were assessed with the Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS) during the acquisition of mechanomyography (MMG) data. The median absolute amplitude of the MMG signals was utilized as a key descriptor. An algorithm was developed to normalize the MMG signals to a universal gravitational (G) acceleration scale, aligning them with the limits and range of MAS. (3) Results: We evaluated 34 lower and upper limbs from 22 volunteers (average age 39.91 ± 13.77 years) of both genders. Polynomial regression provided the best fit (R² = 0.987), with negligible differences (mean of 0.001 G) between the MAS and MMG. We established three numerical sets for the median, minimum, and maximum MMG(G) values corresponding to each MAS range, ensuring consistent alignment of the Modified Ashworth levels with our proposed scale. (4) Conclusions: Muscle spasticity can now be quantitatively and semi-automatically evaluated using our algorithm and instrumentation, enhancing the objectivity and reliability of spasticity assessments.

Introduction: Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) is a technique used in the restoration and generation of movements performed by subjects with neuromuscular disorders such as spinal cord injury (SCI). The purpose of this article is to outline the state of the art and perspectives of the use of FES in artificial motor control of the upper limbs in paretic or plegic people. Methods The databases used in papers selection were Google Scholar and Capes’ Portals as well as proceedings of the Annual Conference of the International Functional Electrical Stimulation Society (IFESS). Results Approximately 85% of the reviewed studies showed FES profile with pulse duration ranging from 1 to 300 μs and modulating (burst) frequency between 10 and 40 Hz. Regarding the type of electrodes, 88% of the studies employed transcutaneous electrodes. Conclusion We concluded that FES with closed-loop feedback and feedforward are the most used and most viable systems for upper limbs motor control, because they perform self-corrections slowing neuromuscular adaptation, allowing different planes and more range of movement and sensory-motor integration. One of the difficulties found in neuroprosthesis systems are electrical wires attached to the user, becoming uninteresting in relation to aesthetics and break. The future perspectives lead to a trend to miniaturization of the stimulation equipment and the availability of wireless networks, which allow the attachment of modules to other components without physical contact, and will become more attractive for daily use

Spinal cord injury (SCI) can lead to a decrease or loss of motor and/or sensory function depending on the level of the injury. In the case of tetraplegia, the Daniels Manual Scale is used for functional classification. However, this classification depends on the professional to assess whether other muscles in the body are compensated. The use of other technologies is, therefore, important in order to support this classification process. The mechanomyography (MMG) detects vibrations on the muscle to which the sensor is placed. This study aims to correlate MMG signals of 3 healthy (NI) and 3 SCI (WI) persons during muscle strength assessment and manual testing. Both MMG and shoulder sensor (deltoid and supraspinatus) signals were acquired at 1 kHz during a force evaluation. This evaluation task consisted in the movement of shoulder abduction, with and without elbow flexion, with and without resistance. The RMS of each axis, the resultant of the three axes and the mean for each volunteer were calculated and compared. MMG _RMS of NI group was 0.1876 mV and 0.1585 mV on the right side and without external resistance, and WI group showed 0.1344 mV and 0.1447 mV in the deltoid and supraspinatus muscles, respectively. With external resistance, NI group presented 0.2128 mV and 0.2193 mV and the WI people, 0.1825 mV and 0.1478 mV (deltoid and supraspinal). On the left side, without resistance, NI people showed 0.1326 mV and 0.1464 mV, while the WI group 0.2181 mV and 0.1310 mV, respectively. With resistance, the values were 0.1656 mV and 0.2184 mV for the NI group and 0.1776 mV and 0.1576 mV for the WI group (deltoid and supraspinal, respectively). The temporal analyses of MMM RMS of the shoulder abductor did not present a significant difference when comparing NI and WI, but WI people presented lower values.