BIOMIMETIC CONTROLLER FOR A MULTIFINGER PROSTHESIS

描述（改编自申请人摘要）：先天性上颌骨 肢体复位缺陷（即失去双手）估计困扰着1 美国每3000名儿童， 因为截肢而失去上肢 这项工作的目标是 为那些缺乏手的患者恢复一只手。目前， 假肢只能恢复简单的动作， 钩子或各种类型假手。 拟议项目将 开发了一种基于意志转换的新型手控器 肌腱驱动的残肢肌肉和肌腱运动 气动（TAP）。 该系统将利用压力敏感泡沫， 测量肌肉/肌腱激活引起的压力变化 残肢 来自这些传感器阵列的信号将被 处理以确定手指的期望移动。初步 对腕关节离断截肢者的测试结果表明， 可以记录和检测适当的信号。 本项目第一阶段 旨在可靠地检测产生的单个前臂肌腱的运动， 通过假想手指的预期移动 为缺失或无功能的患者提供虚拟分型功能 手 ULRD儿童使用TAP手可以恢复 比现有假体提供的更大的灵活性， 可以促进神经、肌肉和神经系统的解剖学和功能发育， 肌腱可以操作未来先进的假肢。 拟定商业应用： 新的假体推进了最先进的技术，预计将 到2000年可商业化。有成千上万的人 美国和全世界的人都可以从一个灵巧的 手，以执行他们的工作，或使用键盘。 假体可以通过传统的保健医生销售 如物理治疗师、假肢师和理疗师。

DESCRIPTION (Adapted from the applicant's abstract): Congenital upper limb reduction deficits (i.e. missing hands) afflict an estimated 1 of every 3000 children in the US and many thousands of children and adults lose their upper limbs by amputation. The goal of this work is to restore a dextrous hand to those patients lacking it. Current upper limb prostheses can only restore simple movements, either with a split hook or various types of artificial hands. The proposed project will develop a novel hand controller based on transduction of volitional muscle and tendon movements in the residual limb with tendon-actuated pneumatic (TAP). The system will utilize pressure-sensitive foam to measure pressure changes resulting from activation of muscle/tendon of the residual limb. Signals from an array of these sensors will be processed to determine the desired movement of digits. Preliminary results from tests on a wrist disarticulation amputee indicate that suitable signals can be recorded and detected. Phase I of this project aims to reliably detect movement of individual forearm tendons produced by intended movement of phantom fingers and to provide multi-finger virtual typing capability for patients with missing or non-functional hands. Use of the TAP hand by children with ULRD could restore a greater dexterity than that which is offered by present prostheses and may foster anatomical and functional development of nerves, muscles and tendons that could operate advanced prostheses of the future. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION: The new prosthesis advances the state-of-the-art, and is expected to be commercially available by 2000. there are thousands of individuals in the U.S. and throughout the world who could benefit from a dexterous hand, in order to perform their jobs, or use a keyboard. The prosthesis can be marketed through traditional health practitioners such as physical therapists, prosthetists, and physiatrists.