Upper Limb Muscle Strength Models for Patients With Motor Impairment.

Upper limb motor impairments are common. They affect quality of life and can lead to dependency. They are mainly due to neurological conditions such as stroke, multiple sclerosis, and traumatic spinal cord injury. However, the contractile properties of muscle, in particular the maximum force that can be generated voluntarily (MVF) depending on joint angle and motion speed, have been mainly studied and modeled in healthy people. This study aims at developing mathematical models describing residual muscle forces in patients with motor impairments. The knowledge could guide patients' rehabilitation and could be useful for the development of robotic assistance systems that use patients\' residual capacities to control the level of assistance provided.