Abstract
The human central nervous system (CNS) can be subject to multiple dysfunctions. Potentially due to physical lesions (e.g.: spinal cord injuries, hemorrhagic or ischemic stroke) or to neurodegenerative disorders (e.g.: Parkinson’s disease), these deficiencies often result in major functional impairments throughout the years.As an alternative to usual therapeutic approaches, functional electrical stimulation (FES) of preserved muscles enables to assist individuals in executing functional movements in order to improve their daily life condition or to help enhancing rehabilitation process.Despite major technological advances in rehabilitation engineering, the complexity of the musculoskeletal system and the technological constraints associated have led to a very slow acceptance of neurorehabilitation technologies.To promote usability and adaptability, several approaches and algorithms were studied through this thesis and were experimentally validated in different clinical and pathological contexts, using low-cost wearable sensors combined to programmable stimulators to assess and control motion through a patient-centered approach.