On the Design of a Novel Underactuated Robotic Finger Prosthesis for Partial Hand Amputation.

This paper presents a novel robotic finger prosthesis for partially amputated patients who have lost a thumb and index finger. The challenging issues were to design i) a three-degree-of-freedom (DOF) underactuated mechanism that mimics intact finger movements including motion profiles and self-adaptation for unknown constraints, ii) an attachment socket for everyday life that allows ease of donning and doffing, and comfortable wearability, and iii) a shape to pack the selected components including an actuator, linkages, and sensors into a limited space avoiding motion interference with other intact fingers and wrist. This paper reports our effort to solve the challenging issues.

Wireless sEMG System with a Microneedle-Based High-Density Electrode Array on a Flexible Substrate.

Surface electromyography (sEMG) signals reflect muscle contraction and hence, can provide information regarding a user's movement intention. High-density sEMG systems have been proposed to measure muscle activity in small areas and to estimate complex motion using spatial patterns. However, conventional systems based on wet electrodes have several limitations.