Novel postural control algorithm for control of multifunctionalmyoelectric prosthetic hands

摘要

The myoelectric controller (MEC) remains a technologicalbottleneck in the development of multifunctionalprosthetic hands. Current MECs require physiologically inappropriatecommands to indicate intent and lack effectiveness ina clinical setting. Postural control schemes use surface electromyographysignals to drive a cursor in a continuous twodimensionaldomain that is then transformed into a hand posture.Here, we present a novel algorithm for a postural controller andtest the efficacy of the system during two experiments with 11total subjects. In the first experiment, we found that performanceincreased when a velocity cursorcontrol technique versusa position cursorcontrol technique was used. Also,performance did not change when using 3, 4, or 12 surfaceelectrodes. In the second experiment, subjects commanded asix degreeoffreedom virtual hand into seven functional postureswithout training, with completion rates of 82 +/– 4%,movement times of 3.5 +/– 0.2 s, and path efficiencies of 45 +/– 3%. Subjects retained the ability to use the postural controllerat a high level across days after a single 1 h training session.Our results substantiate the novel algorithm for a postural controlleras a robust and advantageous design for a MEC of multifunctionprosthetic hands.