Patent ID: 8615301

Claim:
A system, for treating diminished muscle function, comprising: an electrical member that delivers electrical energy to a portion of a mammalian body, the body comprising a dysfunctional muscle; a joint motion assembly that couples to the body and provides, by an electric motor, a joint motion, in a cycle comprising opposing joint movements, to a joint of the body, at a junction of two bones forming an angle for which the junction is the vertex, to which the dysfunctional muscle ordinarily provides motion; and a control unit, in communication with the member and the assembly, that controls (i) a timing of electrical energy delivery by the member and (ii) an amount of electrical energy delivered by the member; wherein the angle is at a minimum at maximal flexion of the joint and is at a maximum at maximal extension of the joint; wherein the timing of electrical energy delivery is controlled to occur only while both of the following occur simultaneously: (i) the angle is positioned within about 30 degrees of at least one of the minimum and maximum, and (ii) motion is being provided to the joint by the joint motion assembly; and wherein the amount of electrical energy delivered is effective to result in a depolarization of at least one of the dysfunctional muscle and a nerve that innervates the dysfunctional muscle.