Control and remote monitoring of muscle activity and stimulation in the rehabilitation process for muscle recovery

Abstract

The processes of muscular recovery is the mechanism to be able to recount the muscle in its operative capacity; the loss of the muscular capacity can be originated by immobilizations of the upper and lower limbs, whether legs or arms; these immobilizations can be the product of fractures, operations that cause a loss in muscle mass, causing a serious problem when it is in the process of rehabilitation, to be able to recover the capacity of the muscles; they are responsible for being able to support the weight of the body in conjunction with the bones, for that reason its importance in being able to recover it. The mechanism to carry out this recovery is through electrical stimulation, which requires the patient to move to rehabilitation centers. The most serious problem arises when patients cannot move to these centers, causing the delay in the recovery of the muscle, the proposal presented is a system that electrically stimulates the muscle and can monitor its recovery, as well as record the evolution of muscle activity, through a remote control and monitoring through an Internet connection, with this it is possible to recover the muscle without the physical presence of the physiotherapy staff, in the task of positioning the sensors and electrodes, you can resort to a family member who is previously trained, allowing to perform a telemedicine technique. The proofs of concept were carried out using an acquisition card, working with the analog input and output channels; for the control and monitoring process, the use of LabVIEW software was used, working with a web service, which allows the personnel of rehabilitation to control and monitor from a mobile device only by accessing the electronic address of the equipment and accessing the web application, where you can configure the stimulation signals, as well as the time, intensity, wave type, among others; in the monitoring of muscle activity you can also view the web application where muscle activity is recorded and visualized, through a surface electromyography circuit; one of the functionalities that give added value is the possibility of analyzing how the muscle evolves. Muscle making a comparison of the previous records, managing to analyze the evolution of the muscle, and/or verifying that the treatments provided to the patient are adequate.