Limb loss results in significant debilitation and reduces the quality of life of the affected individuals [ ]. To restore the lost limb’s function, myoelectric systems have been widely used in powered prostheses [ ]. With this approach, the motor intent is estimated from the electromyogram (EMG) signals recorded by electrodes which are placed on the skin surface above the residual muscles [ ]. The principle of commercial myoelectric schemes has not changed in several decades, and is referred to as conventional control [ ]. This technique uses a measure of amplitude (such as mean absolute value over a time window) of the EMG signals recorded by electrodes placed at two control sites, preferably over a pair of antagonist muscles of the residual limb, to control a single motion i.e. degree of freedom (DoF), for example hand opening closing [ ]. To change the DoF, a mode switch is conducted by muscle co-contraction or a hardware switch [ ]. The mode switch, however, results in an unnatural control of multiple DoFs [ ].
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