Cineplasty as a control input for externally powered prosthetic components

To achieve significant improvement in the function of electric-powered, upper-limb prostheses, we believe it is necessary to develop better control interfaces with inherent sensory feedback. Small cineplasties, or other surgical procedures that also externalize the force and excursion of a muscle, c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of rehabilitation research and development 2001-07, Vol.38 (4), p.357-363
Main Authors: Weir, R F, Heckathorne, C W, Childress, D S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amputation Stumps - innervation
Amputation Stumps - surgery
Arm
Arms
Artificial Limbs
Biomedical Engineering
Electric Stimulation
Feedback
Forearm
Humans
Isometric Contraction - physiology
Medical procedures
Muscle Contraction - physiology
Proprioception - physiology
Prostheses
Prosthesis Design
Prosthesis Fitting
Sensitivity and Specificity
Sensory perception
Tendons - physiology
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Summary:To achieve significant improvement in the function of electric-powered, upper-limb prostheses, we believe it is necessary to develop better control interfaces with inherent sensory feedback. Small cineplasties, or other surgical procedures that also externalize the force and excursion of a muscle, could potentially provide this superior control. Connecting a muscle to a prosthetic component via a controller that embodies the concept of extended physiological proprioception (EPP) would enable the physiological sensory feedback inherent in the skin, muscle, and other tissues of the cineplasty to inform the user of the state of the prosthesis. Multiple miniature forearm tunnel cineplasties, each with an EPP controller, might enable meaningful independent multifinger control of hand prostheses. At higher levels of amputation (e.g., transhumeral), small pectoral or deltoid cineplasties could augment existing control sources to improve control of multifunctional total arm prostheses. To explore the feasibility of these ideas, we quantified the control capabilities of individuals with preexisting biceps muscle tunnel cineplasties with the use of pursuit tracking experiments. A "proof-of-concept" EPP electric hand prosthesis was also successfully developed for a subject with agonist-antagonist, forearm tendon exteriorization cineplasties. The results of the tracking studies demonstrate numerically the efficacy of control by cineplastized muscles relative to other control approaches.
ISSN:0748-7711
1938-1352