A Wearable Anthropomorphically-Driven Prosthesis with a Built-In Haptic Feedback System

Recent developments in experimental anthropomorphically-driven prostheses have shown their potential as highly dexterous prosthetic devices. However, these prostheses are both unwearable and lack haptic feedback regarding antagonistic tensions. Here, we present a wearable, anthropomorphically-driven prosthesis with a built-in haptic feedback system. Two distinct control schemes were proposed and compared in a user study with N=6 able-bodied participants performing the Box and Blocks test. The first control scheme was designed to provide a more intuitive, human like actuation and relaxation of the hand, while the simpler controller was designed to reduce fatigue from sustaining EMG signals. Participants performed significantly better with lower fatigue levels while using the controller designed to be intuitive as opposed to the simpler controller. In addition, task performance with both controllers was better than reported performance with standard myoelectric prostheses. These findings suggest that there is potential utility in wearable anthropomorphically-driven prostheses, and provide support for future studies aimed at exploring the utility of haptic feedback in anthropomorphically-driven prostheses.

I. Introduction

There are nearly 2 million people in the United States living with an amputation. Of these, 30% involve amputation of the upper extremity [1] , [2] . Currently the standard of care is to fit these amputee with a prosthesis that utilizes body-power or electromyography to control flexion and extension of the prosthetic terminal device (hand). While body-powered terminal devices are typically limited to single-DoF actuation of two digits, advanced myoelectric terminal devices, such as the I-limb ultra revolution or the Michelangelo Hand, allow for multiple grip paradigms involving all five digits in a manner that mimics the natural hand [1] .