Simultaneous Pattern Recognition Control of Powered Upper Limb Prostheses

Project Summary Abstract Upper limb amputation is a significant cause of disability that drastically limits an individual s functional capabilities and can also have profound psychological and social effectsAlthough prosthetic devices are currently the best treatment option for upper limb amputationeven the most technologically advanced prosthetic arms fail to adequately restore the functional capabilities of the lost armMyoelectric prosthesis control using pattern recognition was first introduced to the commercial market by CoaptLLC in lateIt provides more natural and intuitive control and eliminates the need for mode switching and the requirement for strong and isolated EMG signals from agonist antagonist muscle sitesHoweverthe current system is limited to providing control of only one prosthesis movement at a timeThe need for simultaneous control of multiple movements has been long cited in the literature and is often voiced by clinicians in the fieldThe proposed project is to finalize and implement a simultaneous control algorithm in CoaptLLC s next generation commercial pattern recognition controllerThe long term goal of this application is to advance the field of upper limb prosthetics by providing a state of the art control system with unprecedented functionality and ease of useThe specific aims of the proposal are toimplement the recently developed simultaneous control algorithm on Coapt s next generation commercial controller andevaluate the simultaneous control algorithm in a home trialUnder the first aimthe simultaneous control algorithm will be incorporated into the next generation system s firmware and user interface software and then optimized to minimize processing timeIf necessaryhardware updates will be made to accommodate the increased processing loadand the resulting system will be fully tested and validatedUnder the second aiman IRB approved randomized crossover study will be performedParticipants will use the system with and without simultaneous control capabilities at home for twoweek trial periods and will perform virtual control tasks and complete a questionnaire at the end of each trial periodThe system will also collect usage data during each trialAll data will be analyzed to determine wear time under each control strategypreferred control strategyand frequently selected simultaneous movementsThis proposed work is fully expected to result in a commercial productincluding the FDA premarket notification processwithin a short time of project completion