A Comparative Review of Different Methods Used for Studying the Efficacy of Functional Electrical Stimulation for Foot Drop Patients

Abstract

Foot drop is a neurological disorder in which the person cannot lift the upper part of the foot from the ground. Functional electrical stimulation (FES) is utilized for treating foot drop. Gait speed is associated with the clinical study of the FES system to study its effectiveness. The review paper compares the various methods used to evaluate the effectiveness of FES treatment, including gait analysis, Timed-Up-and-Go (TUG) test, 10-meter walk (10MW) test, 6-min walk (6MW) test and clinical assessments scales. By examining the strengths and limitations of each method, on the basis of recent research studies that have used these methods to evaluate the effectiveness of FES treatment, this paper aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the different methods used to study the effectiveness of FES for treating Foot Drop patients and to identify the most effective and reliable methods for future studies.

KEYWORDS:

• Foot Drop
• FES
• Gait Speed
• Clinical Trial
• Electrical Stimulation

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Bijit Basumatary

Bijit Basumatary is currently pursuing PhD in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Ropar, Punjab. He obtained MTech in biomedical engineering from Indian Institute of Technology Ropar and later joined as PhD scholar in August, 2021. He did BTech in instrumentation engineering from Central Institute of Technology, Kokrajhar, Assam in 2018 and class 12 from Dronacharya Academy, Barpeta Road Assam.

Indira Kundu

Indira Kundu is a MTech student in the Department of Biomedical Engineering in Indian Institute of Technology Ropar, Rupnagar, India. She received the BSc (hons) degree in zoology from University of Calcutta, Kolkata, India in 2020 and MSc degree in zoology from Diamond Harbour Women's University, West Bengal, India in 2022. Email: [email protected]

Sayantani Ghosh

Sayantani Ghosh is an MTech student in the Department of Biomedical Engineering in Indian Institute of Technology Ropar, Rupnagar, India. She received the BTech degree in biotechnology from Amity University, Kolkata, India in 2022. Email: [email protected]

Rajinder Bansal

Rajinder Bansal is working as professor of neurology at Dayanand Medical College, Ludhiana, India. He received MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery, 1989) and MD (Doctor of Medicine, Internal Medicine, 1992) from Dayanand Medical College and Hospital Ludhiana. He has DM (Doctrate of Medicine) from Sanjay Gandhi Post-Graduate Institute, Medical Science & Research, Lucknow, UP (2000). Email: [email protected]

Ashish Sahani

Ashish Sahani is working as an assistant professor in Department of Biomedical Engineering of Indian Institute of Technology Ropar where he is heading the medical devices lab. He has a PhD from IIT Madras and postdoctoral training from Harvard Medical School and University of Michigan, USA. Email: [email protected]