Project Overview

Sustaining a stroke or spinal cord injury (SCI) negatively impacts the quality of life of older adults by restricting the individual’s functional independence. Functional electrical stimulation (FES) is a promising rehabilitation intervention to improve motor function following paralysis from stroke and SCI. To facilitate the therapeutic benefits of FES, our team, in collaboration with our industrial partner (Myant Inc.), has developed innovative wearable garments that are embedded with FES-electrodes to help restore function in upper and lower limbs. To help advance our goal of commercializing these devices, we will conduct focus groups with end-users (patients and clinicians) to gain their perspectives on the prototypes. A content analysis of the discussions will highlight their concerns and expectations. The outcomes of this work will help to enhance the relevance of the devices to these populations while also providing strategies on ways to effectively bring the device to the market.