Patent ID: 8620438

Claim:
A method for applying neuromuscular electrical stimulation to an agonist/antagonist muscle pair to move a limb about a joint, which method comprises: providing a device for generating a first pattern of neuromuscular electrical stimulation pulses for output through a first channel to a first pair of electrodes attached to an agonist muscle of an agonist/antagonist muscle pair and a second pattern of neuromuscular stimulation pulses, different from the first pattern, for output through a second channel to a second pair of electrodes attached to an antagonist muscle of the agonist/antagonist muscle pair; automatically generating, for each burst period of a plurality of burst periods, the first pattern of electrical stimulation pulses for transmission through the first pair of electrodes to the agonist muscle: (i) at a constant first current amplitude level for a period sufficient to initiate contraction of the agonist muscle; (ii) consecutive to the period of the first current amplitude level, at a constant second current amplitude level less than the first current amplitude level for a period sufficient to continue contraction of the agonist muscle; automatically generating, for each burst period of the plurality of burst periods, the second pattern of electrical stimulation pulses for transmission through the second pair of electrodes to the antagonist muscle: (i) at a constant third current amplitude level for a period sufficient to reduce the acceleration of the limb; (ii) consecutive to the period of the third current amplitude level, at a constant fourth current amplitude level less than the third current amplitude level for a period sufficient to regulate the movement of the limb; wherein each burst period of the plurality of burst periods: (i) represents a predetermined period of time during which electrical stimulation is applied to the agonist/antagonist muscle pair, and (ii) is followed by a predetermined rest period during which electrical stimulation is not applied to the agonist/antagonist muscle pair.