• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.409-413
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• 2012

Purpose: Rehabilitative devices are used to enhance sensorimotor training protocols, for improvement of motor function in the hemiplegic limb of patients who have suffered a stroke. Sensorimotor integration feedback systems, included with these devices, are very good therapeutic frameworks. We applied this approach using electrical stimulation in stroke patients and examined whether a functional electric stimulation-assisted biofeedback therapy system could improve function of the upper extremity in chronic hemiplegia. Methods: A prototype biofeedback system was used by six subjects to perform a set of tasks with their affected upper extremity during a 30-minute session for 20 consecutive working days. When needed for a grasping or releasing movement of objects, the functional electrical stimulation (FES) stimulated the wrist and finger flexor or extensor and assisted the patients in grasping or releasing the objects. Kinematic data provided by the biofeedback system were acquired. In addition, clinical performance scales and activity of daily living skills were evaluated before and after application of a prototype biofeedback system. Results: Our findings revealed statistically significant gradual improvement in patients with stroke, in terms of kinematic and clinical performance during the treatment sessions, in terms of manual function test and the Purdue pegboard. However, no significant difference of the motor activity log was found. Conclusion: Hemiplegic upper extremity function of a small group of patients with chronic hemiparesis was improved through two weeks of training using the FES-assisted biofeedback system. Further research into the use of biofeedback systems for long-term clinical improvement will be needed.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.153-161
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• 2007

Stroke is the second most significant disease leading to death in Korea. The conventional therapeutic approach is mainly based on physical training, however, it usually provides the limited degree of recovery of the normal brain function. The electric stimulation therapy is a novel and candidate approach with high potential for stroke recovery. The feasibility was validated by preliminary rat experiments in which the motor function was recovered up to 80% of the normal performance level. It is thought to improve the neural plasticity of the nerve tissues around the diseased area in the stroked brain. However, there are not so much research achievements in the electric stimulation for stroke recovery as for the Parkinson's disease or Epilepsy. This study aims at the developments of a wireless variable pulse generator using ZigBee communication for future implantation into human brain. ZigBee is widely used in wireless personal area network (WPAN) and home network applications due to its low power consumption and simplicity. The developed wireless pulse generator controlled by ZigBee can generate various electric stimulations without any distortion. The electric stimulation includes monophasic and biphasic pulse with the variation of shape parameters, which can affect the level of recovery. The developed system can be used for the telerehabilitation of stroke patient by remote control of brain stimulation via ZigBee and internet. Furthermore, the ZigBee connection used in this study provides the potential neural signal transmission method for the Brain-Machine Interface (BMI).

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.33 no.8
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• pp.2737-2740
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• 2012

The use of plants to remove toxic metals from soil (phytoremediation) is emerging as a cost-effective alternative to conventional methods for the removal of heavy metals from contaminated soil. Indian mustard (Brassica juncea) was used as the plant to accumulate high tissue concentrations of lead when grown in contaminated soil. For this study, the application of an electric field combined effectively with EDTA-enhanced phytoremediation. A stimulation of direct and alternating electric potential was compared and EDTA-enhanced phytoremediation of lead using Indian mustard has been performed. The effects of experimental parameters such as operating voltage with different concentration of EDTA, the number of graphite electrodes, and cultivation period on the removal of toxic metal were studied. Shoot lead accumulations in Indian mustard increased as the concentration of EDTA and dc electric potential was increased. Two to four folds was increased when EDTA plus a dc electric potential was applied, compared to an ac electric potential. The maximum lead accumulation in the shoots was achieved by applying EDTA plus dc electric potential with 6 graphite electrodes.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.44-53
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• 1996

The present experiment was designed to investigate the effects of behavioral, response to immune function in response to electric footshock in mice. Mice were subjected to electric footshock for 3 days(two sessions a day, 11 times of shock for about 31 minutes a session). The humoral immune response was measured using mice immunized with rat RBC. The cell-mediated immune responses were evaluated by contact hypersensitivity to 2, 4-dinitrofluorobenzene(DNFB) and by phytohemagglutin(PHA)-stimulated splenocytes proliferation assay. In stressed group, electric footshock suppressed significantly anti-rat RBC antibody production(p<0.05), but enhanced significantly $T_{48}$ relative to $T_{24}$ in contact hypersenstivry (P<.01) and T-cell proliferation response(P<.05) by PHA stimulation elative to control group. T-cell proliferation response by PHA stimulation was significantly correlated to the movement than the sensitivity and coping behavior in the mouse, in response to the electric footshock. These data supper the importance of behavioral response in stress-induced changes of immune functions.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.307-311
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• 2020

Purpose: This study examined the effects of changes in the intensity of Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) on CorticoMuscular Coherence (CMC) during action observation. This paper presents a neurophysiological basis for the effective intensity of FES. Methods: Twenty-seven healthy volunteers were asked to observed a video with FES. The FES was provided with a sensory stimulation level, nerve stimulation level, and motor stimulation level. Simultaneously, an electroencephalogram (EEG) of the sensorimotor cortex and electromyogram (EMG) from the wrist extensor muscle were recorded. The peak CMC and average CMC were analyzed to compare the differences caused by the FES intensity. Results: The peak CMC showed a significant increase in the alpha band during motor stimulation (p<0.05). The average CMC showed a significant increase in the beta band during motor stimulation (p<0.05). Conclusion: The intensity of FES, which causes actual movement, increased the CMC during action observation. These results show that the intensity of the FES can affect the functional connection between the sensorimotor cortex and muscle.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.318-326
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• 2009

A simple method for measuring magnetic flux and induced current in magnetic nerve stimulation for urinary incontinence treatment is proposed. Unlike electric nerve stimulation, direct measurement of the induced current in magnetic nerve stimulation is impossible. Since induced currents stimulate nerves or muscles in magnetic nerve stimulation, measuring induced current is very important in validating stimulation efficacy and securing safety. The magnetic flux measuring system is composed of 6 layers with pick-up coils of 7 by 7 in each layer, and the induced current measuring system is composed of 6 layers with 7 concentric circular coils in each layer. The proposed method can be used in the design or performance test of a magnetic nerve stimulator for many clinical applications such as urinary incontinence treatment, activation of peripheral nerves, and transcranial magnetic stimulation.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.181-187
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• 2019

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the activity of respiratory muscle and lung capacity during deep breathing with electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve. Methods: This study was conducted on 30 healthy adults in their 20s. Subjects were randomly performed to deep breathing or deep breathing with vagus nerve electrical stimulation. All subjects' diaphragm and internal oblique muscle activity were measured during deep breathing by electromyography, and lung capacity was measured by spirometry immediately after beep breathing. In the vagus nerve stimulation method, the surface electrode was cut into the left ear and then electrically stimulated using a needle electric stimulator. Results: The activity of diaphragm was significantly increased in deep breathing with vagus nerve electrical stimulation than in deep breathing. However, lung capacity did not show any significant difference according to the condition. Conclusion: Vagus nerve electrical stimulation could induce diaphragm activity more than deep breathing alone. Deep breathing with vagus nerve electrical stimulation may enhance the activity of the respiratory muscles and is expected to be an effective treatment for the elderly or COPD patients with poor breathing ability.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 2003.11c
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• pp.727-730
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• 2003

Electric pulp test is a method to examine the vitality of dental pulp using the electrical stimulation. During the pulp test, the current stimulates intradental nerve, and makes patients painful. Some studies were accomplished to measure the responses of subjects by stimulating over the sensory threshold. In this study, we examined the time delay between pain feeling and stimulation stop in clinical situation. And we measured the activated responses(EMG in anterior belly of digastric muscle, voice, and finger span). As a result, it was verified that the minimum and maximum delay was EMG and voice, respectively. By reducing the excessive stimulus time, the unnecessary pain can be minimized using EMG that has the minimum delay.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.87-94
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• 1992

From December 1991 to March 1992, 34 anejacuratory patients with spinal cord injury underwent 90 of electric stimulations with Seager NRH model 12. The average patient age was 43.5 years with a range of 23 to 48 years. The level of cord injury was cervical in 7, thoracic in 6, lumbar in 11, lumbosacral in 7 and conus medullaris in 3. The average number of electric stimulation per a patient was 2.65 with a range of 1 to 4. The average voltage and amplitude per a stimulation were 17.72 volts and 309. 89 mAmp with ranges of 5 to 25 volts and 50 to 500 mAmp. The total and motile sperm number were evaluated microscopically and analyzed statistically by paired t-test according to the frequency of electroejaculation, level of cord injury and voiding pattern. The results were obtained as follows. 1. An overall success rate of electroejaculation was 85.3% among 34 patients and 82.2% among 90 electric stimulations. 2. The total and motile sperm number per a stimulation were not correlated the frequency of electric stimulation, level of cord injury and voiding pattern. 3. Complications occured in 10 cases; severe low abdominal pain in 5, hypertension in 2, sweating in 1, headache in 1 and neck stiffness in 1. All the copmlications subsided spontaneously within 5 to 10 minutes after transient interruption of the electric stimulation. In summary, rectal probe electroejaculation is an accepted safe means of procuring sperm from spinal cord injury patients with ejaculatory incompetence. However very poor sperm motility was found and it was not related with the frequency of electroejaculation, level of cord injury and voiding pattern. Further investigation would be needed to conclude and to identify the reasons for impaired sperm motility.

• The korean journal of orthodontics
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.203-215
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• 1984

This experiment was performed to explore the effect of electric currents and orthodontic forces on bone $PGE_2$ content and orthodontic tooth movement on cats. Stainless steel electrodes were connected a power pack consisting of five miniature batteries, a transistor, and a resistor. The current $(10{\pm}2{\mu}A)$ was provided by a constant source encased in a palatal acrylic plate. In first experiment, the cathode was placed mesial to the right maxillary canine tooth and the anode was positioned distal to the tooth, Sham electrodes were placed new the left cuspid, to serve as control. Nine cats were divided into three groups evenly. Groups of three animals were treated with electric currents only-for 1, 3 and 7 days, respectively. In second experiment, electric currents and the orthodontic forces of about 80 gm were applied to the right maxillary canine, and the orthodontic forces only were applied to the left maxillary canine. 3 groups of three cats each were treated in this experiment-for 1, 3 and 7 days, respectively. Alveolar bone samples were obtained from sites of tension and compression as well as from contralateral sites. Bone samples were extracted by homogenization in $40\%$ ethanal. The supernatant partitioned twice with 2 volumes of petroleum ether to remove neutral lipids and the aqueous supernatant partitioned in ethyl acetate. After drying the solvent, $PGE_2$ was measured by radioimmunoassay technique. The obtained results were as follows. 1. Teeth treated with combined force and electricity moved faster than those treated with force alone. 2. Alveolar bone $PGE_2$ content of electric stimulation was increased at both electrodes. 3. Alveolar bone $PGE_2$ content of mechanical stimulation at compression sites was gradually increased at all time period. At tension site, $PGE_2$ content increased after 1 day of mechanical stimulation remained elevated at all time period. 4. Alveolar bone $PGE_2$ content of compression sites was increased more than that of tension sites from mechanical stimulation as well as electrical stimulation.