Design of a Control for a Neural Prosthesis for Walking: Use of Artificial Neural Networks

The review presents various neural networks and their application for the design of controllers of assistive systems aiming to provide the walking in paralyzed individuals. The first suggestion from the thorough review of literature and our own work is that the use of artificial neural networks could be an effective method to resolve redundancy, time variability of system parameters, nonlinearities, and other biological effects that contribute to extremely high complexity that cannot be modeled by analytical tools with sufficient precision and details. The second suggestion is that the application of artificial neural networks is only one part of solution, and that at the actuator level of control (muscle activation) the dynamics of the biological systems must be included