FES applications: Successful! Or not? What we learned might show the way to go

Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES), a method to regain lost body functions by means of electricity, operates in a multidisciplinary field where engineers, therapists and medical doctors have to work close together for the patients benefits. Many applications were investigated since the early 1960\´s. Implantable and surface stimulation systems were used, various sensors, algorithms, stimulation strategies investigated. Nevertheless only a few applications are well known and wide spread today. Common to these applications is that they are tailored for one specific task are easy to use, require a short or no time for donning and doffing and have a low intervention rate for the medical staff. They can be perfectly integrated in daily activities and can be used (nearly) invisible to others. A lesson we can learn is, after we have shown that a methodology works and can be beneficial we are still far away from an application that "survives" in daily life. A final product must carefully fit the patients\´ needs, without tradeoffs - and still must be continuously improved.