Powered Upper-Limb Devices

The Development of a Powered Hand Prosthesis

Recent advances in robotics technology, particularly over the past two to five years, are now enabling the development of multigrasp prosthetic hands that have the capability of offering biomechanically useful levels of force and speed. Specifically, advances in power supplies (e.g., lithium-ion batteries), actuation (e.g., rare-earth magnet brushless motors), microelectronics (e.g., low power microcontrollers and surface mount power electronics), and fabrication methods (e.g., additive manufacturing approaches) have all ushered in this new generation of multigrasp devices.

With the ability to provide multiple grasps and gestures, such hands offer the promise of enhancing the dexterity and functional capability of prosthetic hand technology. This said, effective use of a multigrasp hand prosthesis requires a control interface that enables the user to access the multifunctional capability of the hand in a natural and efficient manner. Specifically, the user interface should enable access to multiple grasp postures in an intuitive manner with a negligible latency, and offer continuous, proportional control of motion.

The Vanderbilt Multigrasp (VMG) Hand leverages the aforementioned technological advances with novel control methodologies in an effort to attain this goal. A control method referred to as Multigrasp Myoelectric Control (MMC) has been developed to provide effective control of a multigrasp prosthetic hand and facilitate the performance of the activities of daily living.

Media

Publications

[1] S. A. Dalley, D. A. Bennett, and M. Goldfarb, "Preliminary functional assessment of a multigrasp myoelectric prosthesis," in IEEE International Conference of the Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, 2012, pp. 4172-4175.

[2] D. A. Bennett, S. A. Dalley, and M. Goldfarb, "Design of a hand prosthesis with precision and conformal grasp capability," in IEEE International Conference of the Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, 2012, pp. 3044-3047.

[3] N. A. Alshammary, S. A. Dalley, and M. Goldfarb, "Assessment of a multigrasp myoelectric control approach for use by transhumeral amputees," in IEEE International Conference of the Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, 2012, pp. 968-971.

[4] S. A. Dalley, H. A. Varol, and M. Goldfarb, "A Method for the Control of Multigrasp Myoelectric Prosthetic Hands," IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering, vol. 20, pp. 58-67, 2012.

[5] S. A. Dalley, H. A. Varol, and M. Goldfarb, "Continuous Position and Force Control of a Multigrasp Myoelectric Transradial Prosthesis," in Myoelectric Controls/Powered Prosthetics Symposium (MEC), Fredericton, Canada, 2011, pp. 1-4.

[6] T. E. Wiste, S. A. Dalley, H. A. Varol, and M. Goldfarb, "Design of a Multigrasp Transradial Prosthesis," ASME Journal of Medical Devices, vol. 5, pp. 1-7, 2011.

[7] S. Dalley, H. Varol, and M. Goldfarb, "Multigrasp Myoelectric Control for a Transradial Prosthesis," in IEEE International Conference on Rehabilitiation Robotics, Zurich, Switzerland, 2011, pp. 1-6.

[8] S. A. Dalley, T. E. Wiste, H. A. Varol, and M. Goldfarb, "A Multigrasp Hand Prosthesis for Transradial Amputees," in IEEE International Conference of the Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2010, pp. 5062-5065.

[9] S. A. Dalley, T. E. Wiste, T. J. Withrow, and M. Goldfarb, "Design of a Multifunctional Anthropomorphic Prosthetic Hand With Extrinsic Actuation," IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, vol. 14, pp. 699-706, 2009.

[10] T. E. Wiste, S. A. Dalley, T. J. Withrow, and M. Goldfarb, "Design of a Multifunctional Anthropomorphic Prosthetic Hand with Extrinsic Actuation," in IEEE International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics, Kyoto, Japan, 2009, pp. 675-681.