Coordinated Control for Arm Prosthesis

Summary

Researchers at Vanderbilt have created a novel control of an (myoelectric) arm prosthesis consisting of at least an elbow joint with the possibility of an additional single or multi-axis wrist joint.

Background

• In conventional prostheses each joint is typically controlled irrespective of the other joints in the arm
• Configuration of each joint in the myoelectric prosthetic arm is usually controlled in a sequential manner until arm is configured in a desired posture
• Users are commonly interested in following a given path instead of achieving a given final position

Technology Description

This technology is comprised of a methodology that enables coordinated movement of the elbow and shoulder joint in a myoelectric above-elbow prosthesis. In such a prosthesis, an inertial measurement unit (IMU), consisting of a combination of at least one accelerometer and gyroscope, would be used to compute the position and orientation of the prosthetic arm segment in real-time.

Advantages

• Synchronized configuration takes less time than sequential configuration
• Method of synchronized configuration allows user to coordinate movement based on shoulder orientation

Intellectual Property Status

Patent application has been filed.