Transcutaneous Electrical Stimulation To Relieve Chronic Constipation In Children
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$82,450.00
Summary
1 in 300 children suffer from chronic constipation that is not fixed by changing their diet or taking laxatives. They continue to suffer the problem into adulthood. They also have fecal incontinence or soiling that causes problems with socialising and schooling. We are testing a method of electrical stimulation through the skin on the belly to increase the movement of the bowel. Initial results are encouraging, showing that the rate of movement of the bowel is increased and soiling is decreased.
Transcutaneous Electrical Stimulation To Relieve Chronic Constipation In Children
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$346,995.00
Summary
We have over 300 children with chronic treatment-resistant constipation at Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne. We have a new physiotherapy technique that may overcome constipation and stop soiling in many of these children. In 2003-4, we ran a pilot study to test a technique used by physiotherapists to treat urinary incontinence. We have called the method TESIC (transcutaneous electrical stimulation using interferential current). TESIC uses suction electrodes placed on the belly and back at the ....We have over 300 children with chronic treatment-resistant constipation at Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne. We have a new physiotherapy technique that may overcome constipation and stop soiling in many of these children. In 2003-4, we ran a pilot study to test a technique used by physiotherapists to treat urinary incontinence. We have called the method TESIC (transcutaneous electrical stimulation using interferential current). TESIC uses suction electrodes placed on the belly and back at the level of the belly button. The electrical stimulation is applied using a current (interferential current) that stimulates deep into the abdomen. We tested 8 children and had very encouraging results with improved constipatio in 5-8 and all with soiling stopped. Parents and children are keen to use this technique but first we need to establish that the results are reproducible in a larger group of 70 children. We also need to know if the effect was just a placebo response (due to time spent with the physiotherapists), and how long the effect lasts. We will also measure changes in soiling. Faecal soiling is smelly and antisocial. Relief of soiling has a big impact on a child's ability to fit in at school and to attend normal schooling. We will measure outcomes using daily diaries kept by children, questionnaires, how quickly food moves through the bowel and pressures within the bowel. We have a multidiciplinary team of experienced clinicians and scientists with expertise in these techniques and in constipation and incontinence in children (paediatric surgeon, gastroenterologist, manometry nurse, incontinence paediatrician and physiotherapist, expert in electrical stimulation and gut nervous system scientist). This technique could revolutionise treatment of chronic constipation. Most physiotherapists have TESIC machines, allowing delivery Australia wide. It is non-invasive and should also be able to be used by adults, including the elderly in nursing homes.Read moreRead less
A Novel Approach To The Training Of Functional Standing Following Spinal Cord Injury
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$412,706.00
Summary
The study will employ a new type of functional electrical stimulation (FES), strength-endurance muscle conditioning and standing training to improve stance in SCI victims with incomplete paralysis. We will evaluate an innovative combination of muscle training and novel FES protocols which allow paralysed people to stand and perform upper limb functional tasks. The primary outcomes will be duration of standing, number of repetitions of standing and sitting and upper limb function while standing.
Improved Perception Of Temporal Information In Electrical Signals For Profoundly Deaf Users Of Cochlear Implants
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$170,440.00
Summary
The ultimate goal of this project is to improve the ability of cochlear implant users to understand speech. The way in which a speech signal varies in amplitude over time provides useful information to the listener about the content of the speech signal. Currently, the way that the acoustic signal amplitude is converted to electrical signal amplitude for cochlear implantees does not take into consideration the very significant loudness summation present in multiple-electrode electrical stimulati ....The ultimate goal of this project is to improve the ability of cochlear implant users to understand speech. The way in which a speech signal varies in amplitude over time provides useful information to the listener about the content of the speech signal. Currently, the way that the acoustic signal amplitude is converted to electrical signal amplitude for cochlear implantees does not take into consideration the very significant loudness summation present in multiple-electrode electrical stimulation. That is, when there are multiple sequential current pulses on different electrodes over a short time, the resultant loudness is greater than the loudness due to individual current pulses. The lack of consideration of loudness summation effects has led to the amplitude variations in the acoustic signal not being accurately represented in the loudness variation perceived by the cochlear implantee. This project aims to develop a practical way of more accurately representing speech signal amplitude fluctuations for cochlear implantees by studying the effects of loudness summation. A second aim of the project is to study the effects on perception of using differently-shaped current pulses from those currently used. There is evidence from physiology experiments that using different shapes might cause the electrical stimulation to activate a more narrowly-spaced set of auditory neurons for each electrode. The application of results of both these studies will lead directly to improved perception of speech and other sounds by cochlear implantees, thus improving their communication ability and quality of life.Read moreRead less
Orthostatic Tolerance During FES-evoked Stepping In Paraplegia: A Safety And Viability Study
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$244,900.00
Summary
In the past 30 years, there has been growing interest in the potential benefits of functional electrical stimulation (FES) of the paralysed leg muscles as a means of restoring movement in the lower limbs. FES uses electrical impulses generated by a stimulator to elicit purposeful muscle contractions via skin-surface electrodes placed over the muscles. Although traditionally limited to health-related activities such as stationary cycling exercise, recent bioengineering advances in the area of FES ....In the past 30 years, there has been growing interest in the potential benefits of functional electrical stimulation (FES) of the paralysed leg muscles as a means of restoring movement in the lower limbs. FES uses electrical impulses generated by a stimulator to elicit purposeful muscle contractions via skin-surface electrodes placed over the muscles. Although traditionally limited to health-related activities such as stationary cycling exercise, recent bioengineering advances in the area of FES present the SCI person with a means of restoring upright mobility and reinstating functional tasks. Yet, while this technological innovation remains promising for optimising functional outcomes after SCI, there remains a distinct lack of knowledge of the physiological stresses placed upon the individual. In this preliminary safety and viability study, the physiological implications central to enhanced upright mobility will be investigated during FES-evoked prolonged stepping. The responses during FES-stepping will be contrasted with the responses observed during stepping performed without FES. The study will investigate the blood pressure responses during FES-gait, but also address possible physiological mechanisms underlying those blood pressure responses. The findings from this study will identify whether there is a phsiological limitation to the performance of FES-evoked functional mobility. Current physiotherapy practice recognises blood pressure control and orthostatic hypotension as a significant barrier to functional standing and stepping, yet little is known about the physiology underpinning the condition. If FES does present a limitation to the performance of upright functional activities, this study will also assist in devising alternative physiotherapy gait training regimens.Read moreRead less
Investigating Caloric Vestibular Stimulation As A Novel Therapeutic Intervention For Chronic Pain, Mania And Depression.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$340,963.00
Summary
Chronic pain, mania and depression are common health problems worldwide and represent an enormous burden of illness. Current treatments may be costly, invasive and have serious side-effects. In the proposed project, demonstration of therapeutic benefit with a novel, simple method of brain stimulation without such limitations could change how these disorders are managed. Moreover, the findings would be of substantial significance in developing countries where treatments are often non-existent.
Non-invasive Electrical Nerve Stimulation To Improve Healing Of Chronic Venous Leg Ulcers
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$206,210.00
Summary
Chronic venous leg ulcers are common in the elderly. They often last for many months or years, causing much suffering and expense (currently around $600,000,000 per year in Australia). As more and more Australians live into advanced age, more and more people will be troubled by leg ulcers, particularly as the likelihood of having a leg ulcer increases markedly in the very old. We have developed a painless, cheap treatment that improves wound healing. The treatment consists of electrical stimulat ....Chronic venous leg ulcers are common in the elderly. They often last for many months or years, causing much suffering and expense (currently around $600,000,000 per year in Australia). As more and more Australians live into advanced age, more and more people will be troubled by leg ulcers, particularly as the likelihood of having a leg ulcer increases markedly in the very old. We have developed a painless, cheap treatment that improves wound healing. The treatment consists of electrical stimulation of nerves that supply the wound. Low frequency current is passed through the skin from small battery powered stimulators. We have tested this technique in laboratory animals and in just a few older people with diabetes and have shown it is remarkably effective. We now plan to test this technique properly in a large study in older adults. If successful, the electrical stimulation could result in healing of wounds in relatively few weeks that otherwise would not heal for many months. Much suffering and expense would be avoided. As people age, nerve function deteriotes. Another part of the project will explore whether electrical nerve stimulation can improve damaged nerves themselves. This will provide interesting scientific insight about nerve repair and could lead to treatments for peripheral neuropathy that occurs in diabetes and other medical conditions. Australia needs to act on this now because the number of people aged over 65 will increase from around 2.3 million at present to over 6 million in the next half century. The increase in those over 85 will be even more marked with numbers increasing four fold to over one million people. Many of these people will experience severe impairment of their quality of life from leg ulcers that could be avoided, or at least minimized if a successful treatment is developed and made available to them. Similarly, much unnecessary expense could be avoided.Read moreRead less
The Cause Of Undescended Testis And Inguinal Hernia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$743,848.00
Summary
This study aims to define in both animal models and children how the testis descends from the abdomen to scrotum, and how undescended testis and inguinal hernia are likely to be caused by defects in the same, very indirect signalling pathway. The results will demonstrate where to look for genetic causes and proof of principle for possible future medical treatments for the 3 commonest major operations in children for congenital and acquired undescended testis and inguinal hernia.