Electrostimulation suit transforms patient lives

By Charles Carter, 5/9/22

The Exopulse Mollii Suit stimulates nerves with electricity to improve the mobility of patients with neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis (MS), cerebral palsy (CP) and stroke.

Targeted electrical pulses relax tense muscles and activate weak ones, helping patients to walk and perform other physical tasks faster, with more stability and less pain.

The suit was invented by Swede Fredrik Lundqvist in 2009 after caring for mobility impaired patients as a chiropractor.

He co-founded Exoneural Network which commercialised the new idea and was acquired by German med tech company Ottobock in January 2021.

The suit is currently available at select clinics and rehabilitation facilities in Europe and the company is seeking medical device approval for the USA.

How does it work?

The suit comprises a jacket, trousers and control unit with 58 embedded electrodes that stimulate 40 key muscle groups across the body. Electrical pulses fire 20 times a second (20 Hz) targeting nerve areas that control the contraction and relaxation of those groups.

Antagonistic muscle pairs such as triceps and biceps, and quadriceps and hamstring, are especially pin-pointed. When one of these muscles is tense or spastic the paired muscle is relaxed. Activating the relaxed muscle triggers a natural reflex mechanism called reciprocal inhibition, which relaxes the tense muscle, reducing pain and freeing up movement.

The company recommends that patients with tense muscles use the suit for one hour every other day, and those with chronic pain for one hour every day.

It comes in 37 different sizes starting from 2–3 years of age and up to 5XL for men and women.

Tangent box (tense -> Tibetan singing bowl): A Tibetan singing bowl produces a rich, deep tone when the edge is consistently rubbed with a wooden mallet in a swirling motion. (hmm OK…but why? Tangential thinking is key for creativity and innovation)

What are the benefits?

Early clinical results show that patients with CP, MS, and stroke had better balance and a reduced risk of falls after one hour wearing the suit. Regular, every-other-day stimulation helped them maintain their improvement too.

It also helped significantly reduce pain, with patients who regularly used the suit experiencing continuing pain reduction four weeks later.

One of patient stories, in addition to the clinical study, features Louisa, 27, who suffers from MS. She started experiencing cramps in her hands, arms and legs in 2008 and gradually found it difficult to walk and eventually had to use a wheelchair to get around.

After using the suit, she can now walk, pick things up and even dance again. “My life has changed. I can do things that were not possible before,” says Louisa.

How much does it cost?

UK disability charity CPotential is one of the clinics offering treatment using the Exopulse Mollii Suit. An initial suitability assessment costs £140, after which you can either buy a suit at £5,100+VAT or rent one at £470 per month.

Creativity breakdown

Creativity and innovation is just combining things to make something new. Three of the things that were combined to make the Exopulse Mollii innovation are antagonistic muscle pairs, electrostimulation and multiple sclerosis:

• Antagonistic muscle pairs were first vaguely perceived by the often-described father of biomechanics Giovanni Alfonso Borelli (1608 – 1679), an Italian physiologist, anatomist, physicist and astronomer

• The first use of electrostimulation is credited to Scribonius Largus, in Mesopotamia around 47CE. He modulated pain by attaching an eel to the patients’ skin or had patients place their limbs inside a water tank full of eels.

• Multiple sclerosis was first described in 1868 by French neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot. The name refers to the numerous glial scars (or sclerae – essentially plaques or lesions) that develop on the white matter of the brain and spinal cord.

The creativity and risk-taking of Lundqvist fused with branching creativity and risk-taking from times gone by to produce this dazzling innovation.

Questions for you. Comment below

1. First thought that comes into your head?
2. Pros and cons according to you?
3. Agree with our creativity breakdown?
4. Other applications of this approach?
5. What could this be combined with?

Links

https://www.ottobock.com/default/exopulse