title: A method for the control of multigrasp myoelectric prosthetic hands.
abstract: This paper presents the design and preliminary experimental validation of a multigrasp myoelectric controller. The described method enables direct and proportional control of multigrasp prosthetic hand motion among nine characteristic postures using two surface electromyography electrodes. To assess the efficacy of the control method, five nonamputee subjects utilized the multigrasp myoelectric controller to command the motion of a virtual prosthesis between random sequences of target hand postures in a series of experimental trials. For comparison, the same subjects also utilized a data glove, worn on their native hand, to command the motion of the virtual prosthesis for similar sequences of target postures during each trial. The time required to transition from posture to posture and the percentage of correctly completed transitions were evaluated to characterize the ability to control the virtual prosthesis using each method. The average overall transition times across all subjects were found to be 1.49 and 0.81 s for the multigrasp myoelectric controller and the native hand, respectively. The average transition completion rates for both were found to be the same (99.2%). Supplemental videos demonstrate the virtual prosthesis experiments, as well as a preliminary hardware implementation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37240, USA. skyler.a.dalley@gmail.com
authors.forename: Skyler Ashton
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Dalley
authors.forename: Huseyin Atakan
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Varol
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goldfarb
mesh_terms: D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D002138:Calibration; D003199:Computer Systems; D003625:Data Collection; D004566:Electrodes; D004576:Electromyography / Q000379:methods*; D004581:Electronics; D005385:Fingers / Q000502:physiology; D006225:Hand; D018737:Hand Strength / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D009038:Motion; D009119:Muscle Contraction / Q000502:physiology; D019736:Prostheses and Implants; D011474:Prosthesis Design / Q000379:methods*; D014584:User-Computer Interface