• Rat Right Hindlim Model
• Spinal Map
• Spinal Cord Injury

Abstract

Epidural Electrical Stimulation (EES) is an emerging technique in the field of Neuroprothetics for the stimulation of the Spinal Cord. It helps to restore motor function in patients affected by Spinal Cord Injury. However the mechanisms that allow the restoration of motor function and the interaction between stimulation protocols and the neuronal structures involved in the proces remain unclear. This thesis aims at the understanding of the relationship between stimulation parameters and the spinal activity during EES-induced stepping. For this study a biomechanical model of Rat Hindilimb has been developed. The model is validated with experimental data aquired on rats affected by SCI. The model allows to compute the Spinal Maps, that show the activation of the different spinal cord segments during locomotion and how the it is modulated by different frequencies of EES. The results lead us to affirm that increasing frequency of EES can on one side, selectively control the step height of the animal, but on the other side reduce the quality of walking by over-activating the spinal cord. These results can be useful to drive the design of spinal neuroproshteses in the future not only for patients affected by SCI, but also by Parkinson or other diseases related to the Nervous System.