Closed-Loop System for Myoelectric Hand Control Based on Electrotactile Stimulation

Prostheses are important for amputees to accomplish basic tasks in normal life. Due to lack of feedback, most prosthetic hands are easily rejected by amputees. Electrotactile feedback is a good way to close the loop of prosthetic control and improve human-computer interaction. In this work, we designed a closed-loop system for a myoelectric hand, which includes a driver module for controlling the prosthesis via electromyography (EMG), a force sensor module for measuring contact force of prosthesis, and an elcetrotactile device for delivering sensory feedback to subjects. Pilot experiments involving four amputees were carried out to test the performance on discrimination of stiffness and prosthetic grasping of bottles. Our preliminary results showed that electrotactile feedback played an important role in closed-loop control for the prosthetic hand.