Fortunately in today's modern society of miracles and medical technology, great strides have been made in the advancements of imitating mother nature. One form of imitating mother nature is called Functional Electrical Stimulation, better known as FES. The term Functional Electrical Stimulation can be applied to a wide variety of research and treatment approaches. Some of these include motor control, walking, upper extremity function, urinary function, exercise/motor skills, and many other therapies that might prove beneficial in improving physical function after a spinal cord injury. To better understand FES and its purpose for Hand Grasp, I will begin by telling you when FES was first discovered, give you an explanation as to how it works, and then I will show you some of the ways this electronic invention can benefit a quadriplegic.
We'll start by learning when FES was first discovered. In an article by Sam Maddox called The Body Electric from New Mobility magazine, Luigi Galvani got dismembered frog legs to twitch by wiring them to a crude battery over two hundred years ago. This didn't help the poor frogs in the slightest, but ever since science has been puzzled, sometimes dazzled, by the possibilities of treatment with electricity. These days, electrotherapy is a medical fact of life. As we close out the twentieth century, functional electrical stimulation is used to assist breathing, heart beating, grasping, exercising, and lots more (Maddox 22).
Now I will explain what FES is and how it works. FES by definition according to Case Western Universities user's manual is the use of low level electrical current to activate paralyzed muscles in a controlled and useful manner. According to an article from the Cleveland FES Center's web site, the first person in the world to receive the Cleveland FES Hand Grasp implant to restore hand function in people with paralysis due to a spinal cord injury was performed on August 26, 1986.
This all sounds very complicated, but in simpler terms FES works very much like your ordinary FM radio. A box - called the external control unit acts like our local radio station, sending radio frequency by way of an antenna to your FM radio. The antenna is taped to my chest and transmits information through the skin to a receiving coil that has been implanted in my chest. The receiving coil receives information the same way that your FM radio receives information from the broadcasting station. The receiving coil then sends electrical pulses to the paralyzed muscles by way of the electrodes that are attached directly to the muscle itself.
A wrist or shoulder controller is used to control the function that is desired. It works very much like the knob on your radio that adjust which radio station you are going to listen to. The wrist controller was first used in 1996. I was the second person to receive this experimental device. By raising or lower my hand, it tells the external control unit whether to open or close my fingers. In mid 1998 my van was equipped for driving, and it was necessary for me to begin using a shoulder controller.
Now that you know what FES is and how it works, I would like to share with you some of the ways it benefits a quadriplegic. Imagine again if you were unable to move your fingers how much more you could accomplish if you had some type of hand movement. While FES does not yet allow for individual finger movement it does allow me four different and very functional hand grasp.
The first grasp is set to open in the lateral position, which allows me to pick up my electric razor and shave myself or to brush my teeth. Grasp number two is set to open in a palmer position, which allows me to pick up a glass or coke can. The third grasp is something new to FES. We called it Darrell's sandwich grasp, because I complained about grasp number one putting holes in my sandwich. Finally grasp four was a first also that was programmed to extend my index finger, so it could be used to help me type. These may sound as though it's no big deal, but let me assure you that every step towards becoming more independent is a giant step in the life of a quadriplegic.
I have defined a quadriplegic, given a very simple definition of how FES works, and also some of the its benefits FES provides to a quadriplegic. What does FES mean to me? FES means functional electrical stimulation - it means, more independence.
What should FES mean to you? If you are a quadriplegia, I encourage you to read my dairy which was put together during 1996, the year that I had my surgery.
If you are an able bodied
person your only concern might be the fact of how to avoid this
situation. To do this a few statistics from the
Cure
Paralysis Now web
site will be quite useful. Over 47% of spinal cord injuries occur
from motor vehicle accidents - something we all do everyday. Over
61% of all spinal cord injuries occur between the ages of sixteen
and thirty years of age. Do you fall into this age group? When you
leave the safety of your home or office today, I hope you will
keep these statistics in mind and drive with greater caution, so
that FES does not mean your "Final Ending Stop".
For more
information:
Cleveland
FES Center - Learn more about
new research being done.
My
FES Diary - What
you might experience after a Functional Electrical Stimulation
Hand Grasp surgery.
Works Cited
(1) Case Western University "User's Manual Version 1.2" Functional Electrical Stimulation (F.E.S) Hand Grasp System Copyright 1993: XIII-3, 7, 13, 15.
(2) Cleveland F.E.S Center "Cleveland FES Center Marks 10th Anniversary of First Implant Surgery; Next Generation Device Now in Clinical Testing".
(3) Cure Paralysis Now "Frequently Asked Questions" http://www.cureparalysis.org/faq/ Copyright 1997.
(4) Cure Paralysis Now "Spinal Cord Injury: The Statistical Picture" http://www.cureparalysis.org/statistics/ Copyright 1997.
(5) Maddox, Sam "The Body
Electric" New Mobility December 1995: 22.
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Last updated 07/19/2005