Functional neuromuscular stimulation (FNS).

This issue of the Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development provides a snapshot of the progress that has been achieved in the research and application of functional neuromuscular stimulation (FNS) taken at the Fourth International Conference on Motor Prostheses at Deer Creek Conference Center, Mt. Sterling, Ohio, in July 1994. The objective of that conference was to facilitate the development of new neural prosthetic approaches to replace motor function after disease or injury . The chairman of the conference was P. Hunter Peckham, PhD, of Case Western Reserve University and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio, and the cochairman was Andy Hoffer, PhD, of Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, British Columbia . The conference program was designed to identify and address the technical and physiological issues that are key to the successful clinical implementation of neural prosthetic devices . Users of neural prostheses participated in the discussions . Sessions were held on the following topics: FNS ambulatory assistance ; FNS applications for upper limb control ; respiration and micturition ; dynamic myoplasty ; muscles the actuators ; electrodes, leads, and connectors ; neural signals for command control and feedback; feedback control strategies ; and technology transfer and multicenter trials. This conference provided a clear indication that many of the old obstacles to progress in development and deployment of neuroprostheses are falling to the force of knowledge based on recent progress in the basic sciences and the successful applications in the clinical world . The six main articles in this issue on specific aspects of FNS were all presented at this conference, and the Conference Abstracts Neural Prostheses : Motor Systems provides summaries of major conference discussions.