SBIR Phase II: A compact electrotactile sensory feedback system for upper limb prostheses

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）二期项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力解决了目前在商用仿生假肢设备中缺乏有用的、现实的反馈。目前，对于截肢者来说，还没有通过感官反馈提供闭环控制的假肢装置。如果没有这种类型的反馈，假体使用者倾向于避免操纵某些物体，因为他们冒着操作错误或破坏它们的风险。因此，上肢义肢需要具有丰富表达能力的感觉反馈系统。拟议的研究旨在开发一种能够通过电触觉刺激进行这种反馈的设备。这项研究的预期结果是：一个控制器，可以调节强度和质量的感觉和用户研究，评估该设备的有效性部署一个感觉控制器的日常操作任务。这些结果有可能使全世界超过1000万上肢截肢者恢复大量功能，并改善他们的生活质量。这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）二期项目旨在通过集成一个能够调节感觉强度和质量的控制系统来增强便携式、节能的电触觉刺激器。该刺激器的设计和控制器是独一无二的。该刺激器将整合现有的假手系统。感觉控制器将调节刺激参数，以补偿电极-皮肤界面之间测量电阻的变化，从而减少由于不适而导致设备拒绝的可能性。感觉控制器还将在整个使用过程中保持一致的感觉质量。二期项目完成后，该假肢技术将成为符合医疗设备监管标准的市场感官反馈系统。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project addresses the current lack of useful, realistic feedback in commercially available bionic prosthetic devices. There are currently no prosthetic devices available to amputees that provide closed loop control through sensory feedback. Without this type feedback, prosthesis users tend to avoid manipulating certain objects because they run the risk of handling them incorrectly or destroying them. Consequently, there is a market need for a richly expressive sensory feedback system for upper limb prosthetics. The proposed research seeks to develop a device capable of such feedback with electrotactile stimulation. The expected outcomes of this research are: a controller that can regulate both intensity and quality sensation and a user study which evaluates the effectiveness of this device deployed with a sensation controller for day-to-day manipulation tasks. These outcomes have the potential to restore a significant amount of function to over 10 million upper limb amputees worldwide and improve their quality of life.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project seeks to enhance a portable, energy-efficient electrotactile stimulator, by integrating a control system that will be able to regulate both intensity and quality of sensation. The design and controller of this stimulator are unique. The stimulator will integrate existing prosthetic hand systems. The sensation controller will modulate stimulation parameters to compensate for changes in measured resistance between the electrode-skin interface, thus reducing the likelihood of device rejection due to discomfort. The sensation controller will also maintain a consistent quality of sensation throughout usage. Upon completion of the Phase II project, the prosthetic technology will be a market-ready sensory feedback system that is compliant with regulatory standards for medical equipment.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.