PhD, Movement-science inspired development of upper-limb prostheses for young children

幼儿失去上肢对健康发展和参与社会构成严峻挑战。早期使用假体与较低的排斥率和较好的结果相关，尤其是使用主动装置而不是美容装置。然而，NHS提供的这类假体是有限的。实际挑战包括儿童的快速生长速度，以及传统假体的广泛试配/生产时间。Ambionics为幼儿开发和生产上肢假肢，使用快速原型技术解决这些挑战，快速生产个性化假肢。我们现在解决的挑战是开发具有最大功能和使用直观的假体。这实际上很有价值，因为幼儿缺乏常规培训所需的认知/沟通技能。更根本的是，自然的手部运动是流畅和高效的，因为它们涉及自动的、可预见的感觉运动过程。理想情况下，假肢会受到类似的控制，但人们对发生这种情况所需的条件知之甚少，特别是在儿童中。我们将使用运动科学的理论/方法来确定儿童使用直觉假肢的基本原则。脱离自动化、预见性控制将揭示改进设计和功能的方向，从而产生长期结果。

Upper-limb loss in young children poses stark challenges for healthy development, and participation in society. Earlier prosthesis use is associated with lower rejection rates and better outcomes, particularly with active rather than cosmetic devices. Yet NHS provision of such prostheses is limited. Practical challenges include children's rapid growth-rate, and extensive fitting/production times for conventional prostheses. Ambionics develops and produces upper-limb prostheses for young children, tackling these challenges using rapid-prototyping technology to produce individualized prostheses quickly. We now address the challenge of developing prostheses that are maximally functional and intuitive to use. This is valuable practically because young children lack the cognitive/communication skills for conventional training. More fundamentally, natural hand movements are fluid and efficient because they involve automatic, anticipatory sensorimotor processes. Prostheses would ideally be controlled similarly, yet little is known about conditions required for this to occur, particularly in children. We will use theories/methods from movement science to determine fundamental principles governing intuitive prosthesis use in children. Departures from automatic, anticipatory control will reveal directions for improving design and function, and thus long-term outcomes.