Kilgore, Kevin, PhD

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.

Areas of Interest

• 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.

The goal of the BrainGate research and development project is to identify the core methods and features for a medical device that could allow people with paralysis to recover a multitude of abilities that normally rely on the hands.

https://youtu.be/XD7pfs1IqIo

Research Programs

• User-based Control of FES-based Standing Neuroprosthesis, Department of Veterans Affairs Rehabilitation, Research and Development Service
  
• Restoration of Hand and Arm Function by Functional Neuromuscular Stimulation, National Institutes of Health
  
• Controller Development for Upper Limb Movement

Publications (Select)

Entire publication list can be found here.