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"With FES, when you artificially blast the muscle with electricity, the largest units are recruited first. So, as you increase signal, you get no force at the beginning, and then suddenly you get too much force."

Using mice as an animal model, the researchers compared the amount of muscle force they could generate using the traditional FES approach with forces generated by their optogenetic method.

Using this type of control, the researchers found that muscles could be stimulated for more than an hour before fatiguing, while muscles became fatigued after only 15 minutes using FES stimulation.

The researchers measured muscle force as they gradually increased the amount of light stimulation, and found that, unlike FES stimulation, optogenetic control produced a steady, gradual increase in contraction of the muscle.

Freeland has promised to use the FES to try to boost housing supply and to help Canadians struggling with inflation.