Control of a Robotic Hand Using a Tongue Control System—A Prosthesis Application

Objective:
The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of using an inductive tongue control system (ITCS) for controlling robotic/prosthetic hands and arms.
Methods:
This study presents a novel dual modal control scheme for multigrasp robotic hands combining standard electromyogram (EMG) with the ITCS. The performance of the ITCS control scheme was evaluated in a comparative study. Ten healthy subjects used both the ITCS control scheme and a conventional EMG control scheme to complete grasping exercises with the IH1 Azzurra robotic hand implementing five grasps. Time to activate a desired function or grasp was used as the performance metric.
Results:
Statistically significant differences were found when comparing the performance of the two control schemes. On average, the ITCS control scheme was 1.15 s faster than the EMG control scheme, corresponding to a 35.4% reduction in the activation time. The largest difference was for grasp 5 with a mean AT reduction of 45.3% (2.38 s).
Conclusion:
The findings indicate that using the ITCS control scheme could allow for faster activation of specific grasps or functions compared with a conventional EMG control scheme.
Significance:
For transhumeral and especially bilateral amputees, the ITCS control scheme could have a significant impact on the prosthesis control. In addition, the ITCS would provide bilateral amputees with the additional advantage of environmental and computer control for which the ITCS was originally developed.