Demand for and use of functional electrical stimulation systems and conventional orthoses in the spinal lesioned community of the UK

The use of and demand for functional electrical stimulation (FES) systems a nd conventional orthoses in the spinal cord lesioned population was assesse d. The assessment was conducted by a postal survey of the members of the sp inal injury associations in the U.K. Out of all the respondents, only 2% ha d used an FES system for walking. In comparison, 13% had used some kind of orthosis. Of the small numbers who had used an FES system for walking, more than half had no functional walking abilities. The majority of orthosis us ers had some independent walking ability, The demand for walking improvemen ts was high among the respondents although this was not matched by the dema nd for improved orthotic solutions. In conclusion, it would appear that the re is a need for simple FES systems offering walking improvement to the inc omplete spinal cord lesioned (SCI) subject.