creator Jaeger, Robert J. creator Roth, Elliot J. A method and apparatus for eliciting a physiologically significant cough reflex, such as in a quadriplegic patient. The apparatus preferably has at least one pair of electrodes which are positioned about or near the abdominal muscles. The user generates an input signal. The input signal and a stimulus pulse signal are computed into an output signal. Prior to the delivery of the output signal, alerting signals are delivered to the user to alert the user of an upcoming cough and the onset of pulse electrical voltage to allow the user to engage appropriate volitional activity to optimally engage and complete the cough. The output signal is transformed into a pulse electrical voltage which is delivered across each pair of electrodes. Such pulse electrical voltage activates the lower motor neurons and thereby contracts the abdominal muscles to elicit a physiologically significant cough reflex. The pulse electrical voltage can be delivered at an optimum time, which can be calculated as a function of a physical and temporal status of the cough and a volitional activity by the user, in order to achieve a maximum air flow rate of the cough. Submitted by Aric Ahrens (ahrens@iit.edu) on 2011-12-12T19:05:36Z No. of bitstreams: 1 5397337.pdf: 193097 bytes, checksum: 84657af3242ea67ff9d868dcb2e56f32 (MD5) Made available in DSpace on 2011-12-12T19:05:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 5397337.pdf: 193097 bytes, checksum: 84657af3242ea67ff9d868dcb2e56f32 (MD5) Previous issue date: 1995-03-14 Illinois Institute of Technology 2009-05-11 1995-03-14 5,397,337 http://hdl.handle.net/10560/2409 en United States Patent Patent reformatted digital application/pdf No Copyright - United States http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/ Open Access