Should bionic limb control mimic the human body? Impact of control strategy on bionic hand skill learning.

A longstanding engineering ambition has been to design anthropomorphic bionic limbs: devices that look like and are controlled in the same way as the biological body (biomimetic). The untested assumption is that biomimetic motor control enhances device embodiment, learning, generalization, and automaticity. To test this, we compared biomimetic and non-biomimetic control strategies for able-bodied participants when learning to operate a wearable myoelectric bionic hand.

Novel approaches to fitting and implanting finger and nail prosthetics.

Purpose: This work presents unique designs for prosthetic restoration of the distal finger. We first discuss fitting a prosthetic nail in order to restore the cosmetic deficit caused by partial or complete nail injury. This concept is inspired from snap fit and lanced sheet metal technology.

Special Considerations for Multiple Limb Amputation.

It has been estimated that more than 1.6 million individuals in the United States have undergone at least one amputation. The literature abounds with research of the classifications of such injuries, their etiologies, epidemiologies, treatment regimens, average age of onset (average age of amputation), and much more.

First-in-man demonstration of a fully implanted myoelectric sensors system to control an advanced electromechanical prosthetic hand.

Background: Advanced motorized prosthetic devices are currently controlled by EMG signals generated by residual muscles and recorded by surface electrodes on the skin. These surface recordings are often inconsistent and unreliable, leading to high prosthetic abandonment rates for individuals with upper limb amputation. Surface electrodes are limited because of poor skin contact, socket rotation, residual limb sweating, and their ability to only record signals from superficial muscles, whose function frequently does not relate to the intended prosthetic function.

Prosthetic advances.

Much of the current prosthetic technology is based on developments that have taken place during or directly following times of war. These developments have evolved and improved over the years, and now there are many more available options to provide a comfortable, cosmetic, and highly functional prosthesis. Even so, problems with fit and function persist.