Critical reviews in biomedical engineering
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Closed-loop (feedback) control of skeletal muscle is critically reviewed. The introductory section examines the advantages and disadvantages of open-loop as compared to closed-loop control in general, defines the problem, and outlines our approach. In the biological systems section, muscle structure and function are defined at the level of the motor nerve, neuromuscular junction, and sarcomere. ⋯ The focus of this section is the paralyzed individual: past progress and future directions. An extensive bibliography of cited references is then provided so that the interested reader may pursue his/her particular area of interest in more detail. The authors acknowledge that such an extensive review of so many relevant areas is necessarily not complete and often overly simplistic, but our goal is a "first approach" to a comprehensive understanding of the closed-loop (feedback) control problem for achieving movement in paralyzed skeletal muscle.