Kilgore, Kevin, Ph.D.

Research Statement

My primary research interest is in the application of functional electrical stimulation (FES) to provide disabled individuals with increased independence and improved quality of life. In particular, I have focused my work on FES as applied to cervical level spinal cord injury. These individuals have paralyzed muscles in both their hands and arms. FES can be used to produce grasp and release motions, allowing the individual to perform many tasks that they could not otherwise perform independently. I have three main areas of research that are ongoing at the present time:

• Ongoing clinical feasibility trials of an implanted FES system for restoring hand and arm function in cervical spinal cord injury.
• We are currently developing a flexible implantable FES system (Networked Neuroprosthesis) that can be used in a variety of applications (upper and lower extremity motor function, bowel/bladder function, spinal cord injury, stroke, etc.).
• We are exploring various methods of electrically blocking nerve conduction to reduce spasticity in stroke or block pain in peripheral nerve injury.

Professional Affiliations

• Associate Director, Cleveland FES Center
• Program Manager, Department of Orthopaedics, MetroHealth Medical Center, Cleveland, OH
• Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH
• Biomedical Engineer, Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, Cleveland, OH

Publications (Select)

• Kilgore KL, Peckham P, Keith MW. Twenty year experience with implanted neuroprostheses. Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2009;2009:7212-5. PubMed PMID: 19965280.
• Kilgore KL, Foldes EA, Ackermann DM, Bhadra N. Combined direct current and high frequency nerve block for elimination of the onset response. Conf Proc IEEE  Eng Med Biol Soc. 2009;2009:197-9. PubMed PMID: 19964208.
• Ackermann D, Foldes EL, Bhadra N, Kilgore KL. Electrode design for high frequency block: effect of bipolar separation on block thresholds and the onset response. Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2009;2009:654-7. PubMed PMID: 19963721.
• Bhadra N, Foldes EL, Ackermann D, Kilgore KL. Reduction of the onset response in high frequency nerve block with amplitude ramps from non-zero amplitudes. Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2009;2009:650-3. PubMed PMID: 19963720.
• Foldes EL, Ackermann D, Bhadra N, Kilgore KL. Counted cycles method to quantify the onset response in high-frequency peripheral nerve block. Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2009;2009:614-7. PubMed PMID: 19963719.
• Ackermann DM Jr, Foldes EL, Bhadra N, Kilgore KL. Effect of bipolar cuff electrode design on block thresholds in high-frequency electrical neural conduction block. IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng. 2009 Oct;17(5):469-77. Epub 2009 Oct 16. PubMed PMID: 19840914.
• Ackermann DM Jr, Foldes EL, Bhadra N, Kilgore KL. Conduction block of peripheral nerve using high-frequency alternating currents delivered through an intrafascicular electrode. Muscle Nerve. 2010 Jan;41(1):117-9. PubMed PMID: 19813186.
• Lewandowski BE, Kilgore KL, Gustafson KJ. In vivo demonstration of a self-sustaining, implantable, stimulated-muscle-powered piezoelectric generator prototype. Ann Biomed Eng. 2009 Nov;37(11):2390-401. Epub 2009 Aug 6. PubMed PMID: 19657742.
• Pohlmeyer EA, Oby ER, Perreault EJ, Solla SA, Kilgore KL, Kirsch RF, Miller LE. Toward the restoration of hand use to a paralyzed monkey: brain-controlled functional electrical stimulation of forearm muscles. PLoS One. 2009 Jun 15;4(6):e5924. PubMed PMID: 19526055; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2691481.

Co-Investigator Research Programs

• FES Control of the Extremities in Spinal Cord Injury, Department of Veterans Affairs Rehabilitation Research and Development Service
• Restoration of Hand and Arm Function by Neuromuscular Stimulation, National Institutes of Health
• Neurostimulation and Neuromodulation Partnership, State of Ohio
• A Novel Waveform for Electrical Nerve Conduction Block

Contact Information