Abstract
The main drawback of the commercially available myoelectric hand prostheses is the absence of somatosensory feedback. We recently developed a feedback interface for multiple degrees of freedom myoelectric prosthesis that allows proprioceptive and sensory information (i.e., grasping force) to be transmitted to the wearer instantaneously. High information bandwidth is achieved through intelligent control of spatiotemporal distribution of electrical pulses over a custom-designed electrode array. As electrotactile sensations are location-dependent and the developed interface requires that electrical stimuli are perceived to be of the same intensity on all locations, a calibration procedure is of high importance. The aim of this study was to gain more insight into the calibration procedure and optimize this process by leveraging a priori knowledge. For this purpose, we conducted a study with 9 able-bodied subjects performing 10 sessions of the array electrode calibration. Based on the collected data, we optimized and simplified the calibration procedure by adapting the initial (baseline) amplitude values in the calibration algorithm. The results suggest there is an individual pattern of stimulation amplitudes across 16 electrode pads for each subject, which is not affected by the initial amplitudes. Moreover, the number of user actions performed and the time needed for the calibration procedure are significantly reduced by the proposed methodology.
Highlights
Humans rely on their hands to grasp, manipulate objects, and carry out a variety of activities of daily living
Research and technological advancement in prosthetic hands resulted in commercial devices that today range from simple grippers with one degree of freedom (DOF) to dexterous robotic hands that support multiple DOFs and grasping configurations [2]
The most technologically advanced noninvasive technique to partially restore the functions of the missing hand is by employing myoelectric prosthesis
Summary
Humans rely on their hands to grasp, manipulate objects, and carry out a variety of activities of daily living. The most technologically advanced noninvasive technique to partially restore the functions of the missing hand is by employing myoelectric prosthesis. These systems can recognize user intentions from electrical activity of remaining muscles (EMG) [3]. By employing the muscles originally used to accomplish the desired tasks, the user can intuitively operate the artificial hand [4] This holds a great promise to improving the quality of life for hand amputees, which is why significant research efforts are aimed at further optimizing existing solutions [5] and providing a more intuitive user control [6]. The user will find a limited benefit from these improvements when using multi-DOF prosthesis, if somatosensory feedback, which is crucial for effective motor planning and execution [7, 8] in grasping and object manipulation tasks [9], is missing
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