Article

The myoelectric controller (MEC) remains a technological bottleneck in the
development of multifunctional prosthetic hands. Current MECs require
physiologically inappropriate commands to indicate intent and lack effectiveness
in a clinical setting. Postural control schemes use surface electromyography
signals to drive a cursor in a continuous two-dimensional domain that is then
transformed into a hand posture. Here, we present a novel algorithm for a
postural controller and test the efficacy of the system during two experiments
with 11 total subjects. In the first experiment, we found that performance
increased when a velocity cursor-control technique versus a position
cursor-control technique was used. Also, performance did not change when using 3,
4, or 12 surface electrodes. In the second experiment, subjects commanded a six
degree-of-freedom virtual hand into seven functional postures without 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
controller at a high level across days after a single 1 hr training session. Our
results substantiate the novel algorithm for a postural controller as a robust
and advantageous design for a MEC of multifunction prosthetic hands.

Langue : ANGLAIS