Patent ID: 7497806

Claim:
A functional electrical stimulation system for exercising the limbs of a subject that are at least partially paralyzed, the system comprising: a limb monitor having at least one sensor mountable to at least one of the at least partially paralyzed limbs of the subject that outputs signals representative of the position or movement of said at least one limb during exercise; and a controller that receives and processes the signals output by the monitor and outputs control signals to a stimulator adapted to provide electrical stimulation to said at least one limb in response to the position or movement of said at least one limb detected by the monitor; wherein the controller has a storage unit having at least one predetermined action sequence storable therein such that on receipt of signals from the monitor, said at least one predetermined action sequence is provided to the stimulator; wherein the system further comprises an operator including at least one sensor that monitors the position of a portion of the subject's body other than said at least one monitored limb and outputs predetermined signals in response to detection of predetermined movements by said portion of the subject's body; wherein detection of a predetermined movement of the torso of the subject's body leads to activation or deactivation of the system.