Two-channel real-time EMG control of a dexterous hand prosthesis

In this paper a case study is introduced, which assesses the suitability of a newly conceived two-channel myoelectric controller for a multi-fingered hand prosthesis. A PCA-based approach, previously presented by the authors, has been employed to control in real-time an underactuated 16-degrees of freedom robotic hand. A volunteer able-bodied subject was enrolled in this case study to test the system, controlling the prosthesis by means of his forearm EMG signals collected by active surface electrodes and properly processed. Trials have shown that the subject was able to successfully operate the prosthetic hand while performing the three prehensile forms mostly used in daily living activities (i.e. power, precision and lateral grips) and stably grasping several different objects. The experiments demonstrate the possibility to develop a bio-inspired myoelectric hand prosthesis endowed with an intuitive and human-like control system. The validation of the PCA-based EMG controller will be carried on in the near future also with hand amputees.