Ventilatory assistance using electrical stimulation of abdominal muscles

Abstract

Nine neurologically intact subjects were studied to demonstrate the feasibility of stimulating the muscles of expiration during, and in synchrony with, naturally occurring breathing. A breath-by-breath analysis showed that both tidal volume and the frequency of respiration could be increased during periods of electrical stimulation. A single subject with complete spinal cord injury was studied to eliminate the possibility that the results from the normal subjects could be attributed entirely to either subconscious or conscious volitional response to the stimulation. The results provide a basis for future studies with patients in borderline ventilatory failure.

Abdominal functional electrical stimulation to improve respiratory function after spinal cord injury: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Ten studies investigated the acute effect of 6 Abdominal FES, [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][31][32][33] while four studies investigated the chronic effect of Abdominal FES training. 9,10,14,15 …”

“…While not included in the meta-analysis due to a lack of data, three studies have reported that Abdominal FES led to a significant acute increase in Tidal Volume (VT) for participants with an SCI, 3,7,8 indicating that this measure may be worthy of further exploration. Kandare et al 31 also demonstrated that Abdominal FES could be used to support respiration for patients who lacked spontaneous ventilation, with the intervention able to provide an adequate VT for up to three and a half minutes.…”

“…For patients with impaired ventilatory respiration, for example due to paralysis affecting the major 2 respiratory muscles, Abdominal FES can be used to activate paralysed abdominal muscles, which may achieve an acute (immediate and temporary) improvement in respiratory function. [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] The repeated application of Abdominal FES, termed Abdominal FES training, has been hypothesised to increase abdominal muscle mass and tone, placing the diaphragm in a more efficient position for respiration. 10 Abdominal FES training may improve the unassisted respiratory function in patients with impaired respiration.…”

Abdominal stimulation for respiratory support in tetraplegia: A tutorial review

“…While the study reported in [23] focused on quiet breathing their system was not applicable for cough induction. On the other side, the study in [24] focused on a system to generate an automatic trigger for cough, but did not consider other breathing situations.…”

“…This approach was used byŠorli et al [23] and Spivak et al [24] for specific respiratory situations. While the study reported in [23] focused on quiet breathing their system was not applicable for cough induction.…”