Patent ID: 8612010

Claim:
An apparatus, for treating diminished muscle function in an upper extremity, comprising: an electrical member that delivers electrical energy to a hand region comprising at least one of a digit, a hand, and a wrist, the hand region comprising a dysfunctional muscle; a hand joint motion assembly that couples to the hand region and provides, by an electric motor, a joint motion, in a cycle comprising opposing joint movements, to a joint, 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 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 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.