ABSTRACT
The authors’ aim has been to develop a generic functional electrical stimulation (FES) implant for the restoration of functions in spinal cord injured (SCI) paraplegic individuals, the functions or modes of which can be matched to an individual’s requirements: upright functional mobility, pressure relief and lower extremity exercise, bladder and bowel control [1-6]. In addition, for bladder control, less invasive
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surgical procedures were proposed to avoid posterior conus rhizotomy, and sacral laminotomy in order to access the sacral nerve roots for stimulation [7,8]. It was hoped that this system would offer more functions and less surgery to patients with a cost-benefit ratio. This approach was termed “Multi-Functional.”
