a quick note on a special bike

I've decided that I will keep writing major blogs on Sundays but will add notes on other days.I found this item reported on Yanous -and from the BBC - A bike for the paralysed.

People paralysed by spinal cord injuries could soon be able to go out cycling.

Scientists say the tricycle, which works by stimulating the legs electrically, will not only provide a means of transport and recreation, but should also stop muscle wastage and could provide more mobility.

FES (functional electrical stimulation) tricycling has been developed by teams from University College London (UCL) and the University of Glasgow. The technique involves stimulating paralysed muscles by passing short pulses of current through electrodes on the skin.

A stimulator synchronizes the stimulation with the pedal position while the person has a 'throttle' to control how much stimulation is applied - rather like a motor bike with the legs as the engine.

Professor Nick Donaldson, said the device - dubbed the 'recumbent tricycle' - would be available within a year. He said it would help get people back into exercising safely - an option not always open to them at present.

Wheelchairs

"The arms and shoulders were not evolved for wheelchair sports," he told the BBC News website.

"More than half wheelchair athletes over 40 years old suffer from damaged joints." Professor Donaldson said the only current way to exercise the paralysed muscles was by electrical stimulation.

We want to create a system that they can use from home and that they will want to use because it is fun Professor Nick Donaldson But just stimulating the muscles was not much fun and made people reluctant to exercise.

The new tricycle, which can be used at home to train the muscles while stationary, or for recreation outdoors, should provide a much more tempting prospect.

(more from the link above)

I feel very tired and sluggish today. Could do with such a machine!