Article

Advances in robotic technology have recently enabled the development of powered
lower-limb prosthetic limbs. A major hurdle in developing commercially successful
powered prostheses is the control interface. Myoelectric signals are one way for
prosthetic users to provide feedforward volitional control of prosthesis
mechanics. The goal of this study was to assess motor learning in people with
lower-limb amputation using proportional myoelectric control from residual-limb
muscles. We examined individuals with transtibial amputation and nondisabled
controls performing tracking tasks of a virtual object. We assessed how quickly
the individuals with amputation improved their performance and whether years
since amputation correlated with performance. At the beginning of training,
subjects with amputation performed much worse than control subjects. By the end
of a short training period, tracking error did not significantly differ between
subjects with amputation and nondisabled subjects. Initial but not final
performance correlated significantly with time since amputation. This study
demonstrates that although subjects with amputation may initially have poor
volitional control of their residual lower-limb muscles, training can
substantially improve their volitional control. These findings are encouraging
for the future use of proportional myoelectric control of powered lower-limb
prostheses.

Langue : ANGLAIS