Sensor unit for a functional electrical stimulation (FES) orthotic system

A functional electrical stimulation (FES) orthotic system for improving a gait of a user, the FES orthotic system comprising:

• a sensor unit comprising a sensor processor and a plurality of sensors, the sensor processor being configured to:
• receive motion information associated with the gait of the user, the motion information comprising a foot acceleration and a foot angular velocity of the foot of the user;
• receive environmental data associated with a surrounding of the user;
• generate a foot orientation indicator for the foot based on the foot acceleration and the foot angular velocity, the foot orientation indicator corresponding to an angular position relative to a longitudinal axis of the foot;
• determine a foot condition based on at least the foot orientation indicator and the foot acceleration, the foot condition indicating a gait quality of the user;
• and
• adjust signal parameters for a stimulation signal based on at least the foot condition and the environmental data, the stimulation signal being applied to the user to adjust an orientation of the foot when the gait quality of the user requires improvement.

A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising a plurality of instructions executable on a processor of a device for adapting the processor to implement a method of improving a gait of a user with a functional electrical stimulation (FES) orthotic system, the computer readable medium comprising instructions for receiving motion information associated with the gait of the user, the motion information comprising a foot acceleration and a foot angular velocity of the foot of the user;

• generating a foot orientation indicator for the foot based on the foot acceleration and the foot angular velocity, the foot orientation indicator corresponding to an angular position relative to a longitudinal axis of the foot, the foot orientation indicator comprising one or more orientation indicators each corresponding to a different direction of the angular position;
• determining a foot condition based on at least the foot orientation indicator and the foot acceleration, the foot condition indicating a gait quality of the user;
• determining the foot condition is a normal condition when the one or more orientation indicators is less than an orientation threshold and the foot acceleration is less than an acceleration threshold;
• determining the foot condition is an impaired condition when at least one of the orientation indicators is greater than or equal to the orientation threshold and the foot acceleration is greater than or equal to the acceleration threshold;
• and adjusting signal parameters for a stimulation signal based on at least the foot condition, the stimulation signal being applied to the user to adjust an orientation of the foot when the gait quality of the user requires improvement.