Myoelectric Control Strategies Research Articles

A microprocessor based trainer for both single-site and two-site myoelectric prostheses

Electronic training aids are essential in preparing an amputee for the use of a myoelectric prosthesis. Those presently available are often complicated in use and never flexible enough to handle a wide variety of possible myoelectric control strategies. By the judicial application of microprocessor technology, the Bio-Engineering Institute of the University of New Brunswick has designed a ‘high-tech’ training device, which overcomes these drawbacks. The new trainer interacts with a therapist via a 2 × 40 character liquid crystal display and two key switches. It is completely menu driven, and as such can be used immediately by an inexperienced person. By using low power circuitry throughout the design, the instrument can be run continually for up to 8 h off a set of five standard D-type cells. In addition, the instrument can be easily adapted to any new control strategy by an update to read-only-memory based software.