Beyond Humanoid Prosthetic Hands: Modular Terminal Devices That Improve User Performance
Despite decades of research and development, myoelectric prosthetic hands lack functionality and are often rejected by users. This lack in functionality can be partially attributed to the widely accepted anthropomorphic design ideology in the field; attempting to replicate human hand form and functi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IEEE
2025-01-01
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| Series: | IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering |
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| Online Access: | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10838713/ |
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| _version_ | 1832590425192398848 |
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| author | Digby Chappell Barry Mulvey Shehara Perera Fernando Bello Petar Kormushev Nicolas Rojas |
| author_facet | Digby Chappell Barry Mulvey Shehara Perera Fernando Bello Petar Kormushev Nicolas Rojas |
| author_sort | Digby Chappell |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Despite decades of research and development, myoelectric prosthetic hands lack functionality and are often rejected by users. This lack in functionality can be partially attributed to the widely accepted anthropomorphic design ideology in the field; attempting to replicate human hand form and function despite severe limitations in control and sensing technology. Instead, prosthetic hands can be tailored to perform specific tasks without increasing complexity by shedding the constraints of anthropomorphism. In this paper, we develop and evaluate four open-source modular non-humanoid devices to perform the motion required to replicate human flicking motion and to twist a screwdriver, and the functionality required to pick and place flat objects and to cut paper. Experimental results from these devices demonstrate that, versus a humanoid prosthesis, non-humanoid prosthesis design dramatically improves task performance, reduces user compensatory movement, and reduces task load. Case studies with two end users demonstrate the translational benefits of this research. We found that special attention should be paid to monitoring end-user task load to ensure positive rehabilitation outcomes. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c97d5639c27c4c5fa41a303166bf76cc |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1534-4320 1558-0210 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IEEE |
| record_format | Article |
| series | IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering |
| spelling | doaj-art-c97d5639c27c4c5fa41a303166bf76cc2025-01-24T00:00:08ZengIEEEIEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering1534-43201558-02102025-01-013346647510.1109/TNSRE.2025.352872510838713Beyond Humanoid Prosthetic Hands: Modular Terminal Devices That Improve User PerformanceDigby Chappell0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4252-8121Barry Mulvey1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5013-8484Shehara Perera2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6695-4307Fernando Bello3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4136-0355Petar Kormushev4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6677-3044Nicolas Rojas5https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5988-9180Dyson School of Design Engineering, Imperial College London, London, U.K.Dyson School of Design Engineering, Imperial College London, London, U.K.Dyson School of Design Engineering, Imperial College London, London, U.K.Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, London, U.K.Dyson School of Design Engineering, Imperial College London, London, U.K.The AI Institute, Cambridge, MA, USADespite decades of research and development, myoelectric prosthetic hands lack functionality and are often rejected by users. This lack in functionality can be partially attributed to the widely accepted anthropomorphic design ideology in the field; attempting to replicate human hand form and function despite severe limitations in control and sensing technology. Instead, prosthetic hands can be tailored to perform specific tasks without increasing complexity by shedding the constraints of anthropomorphism. In this paper, we develop and evaluate four open-source modular non-humanoid devices to perform the motion required to replicate human flicking motion and to twist a screwdriver, and the functionality required to pick and place flat objects and to cut paper. Experimental results from these devices demonstrate that, versus a humanoid prosthesis, non-humanoid prosthesis design dramatically improves task performance, reduces user compensatory movement, and reduces task load. Case studies with two end users demonstrate the translational benefits of this research. We found that special attention should be paid to monitoring end-user task load to ensure positive rehabilitation outcomes.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10838713/Prostheticsend effectorupper limb prosthetics |
| spellingShingle | Digby Chappell Barry Mulvey Shehara Perera Fernando Bello Petar Kormushev Nicolas Rojas Beyond Humanoid Prosthetic Hands: Modular Terminal Devices That Improve User Performance IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering Prosthetics end effector upper limb prosthetics |
| title | Beyond Humanoid Prosthetic Hands: Modular Terminal Devices That Improve User Performance |
| title_full | Beyond Humanoid Prosthetic Hands: Modular Terminal Devices That Improve User Performance |
| title_fullStr | Beyond Humanoid Prosthetic Hands: Modular Terminal Devices That Improve User Performance |
| title_full_unstemmed | Beyond Humanoid Prosthetic Hands: Modular Terminal Devices That Improve User Performance |
| title_short | Beyond Humanoid Prosthetic Hands: Modular Terminal Devices That Improve User Performance |
| title_sort | beyond humanoid prosthetic hands modular terminal devices that improve user performance |
| topic | Prosthetics end effector upper limb prosthetics |
| url | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10838713/ |
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