User experience of controlling the DEKA Arm with EMG pattern recognition.

Introduction: A commercially available EMG Pattern Recognition (EMG-PR) control system was adapted to interface with the multi-degree of freedom (DOF) DEKA Arm.

Purpose: To describe users' experience of controlling the DEKA Arm using EMG-PR.

Methods: Sample: Twelve persons with upper limb amputation participated, 10 with transradial (TR), 2 with transhumeral (TH) level amputation.

Does the DEKA Arm substitute for or supplement conventional prostheses.

Background: Research on home use of advanced upper limb prostheses is needed.

Objectives: To describe and compare DEKA Arm usage patterns during the last 4 weeks of a home trial for participants with a personal prosthesis and those without. To compare usage patterns during home trial to those of the personal prosthesis prior to home trial.

User and clinician perspectives on DEKA arm: results of VA study to optimize DEKA arm.

This article summarizes feedback from Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) subjects and clinicians gathered during the VA optimization study of the DEKA Arm. VA subjects and clinicians tested two DEKA Arm prototypes (second-generation [gen 2] and third-generation [gen 3]). Features of the prototypes in three configurations are described.

Controlling a multi-degree of freedom upper limb prosthesis using foot controls: user experience.

Purpose: The DEKA Arm, a pre-commercial upper limb prosthesis, funded by the DARPA Revolutionizing Prosthetics Program, offers increased degrees of freedom while requiring a large number of user control inputs to operate. To address this challenge, DEKA developed prototype foot controls. Although the concept of utilizing foot controls to operate an upper limb prosthesis has been discussed for decades, only small-sized studies have been performed and no commercial product exists.

Advanced upper limb prosthetic devices: implications for upper limb prosthetic rehabilitation.

The number of catastrophic injuries caused by improvised explosive devices in the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars has increased public, legislative, and research attention to upper limb amputation. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has partnered with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and DEKA Integrated Solutions to optimize the function of an advanced prosthetic arm system that will enable greater independence and function. In this special communication, we examine current practices in prosthetic rehabilitation including trends in adoption and use of prosthetic devices, financial considerations, and the role of rehabilitation team members in light of our experiences with a prototype advanced upper limb prosthesis during a VA study to optimize the device.

Using virtual reality environment to facilitate training with advanced upper-limb prosthesis.

Technological advances in upper-limb prosthetic design offer dramatically increased possibilities for powered movement. The DEKA Arm system allows users 10 powered degrees of movement. Learning to control these movements by utilizing a set of motions that, in most instances, differ from those used to obtain the desired action prior to amputation is a challenge for users.