Our hands are a marvel of nature, allowing us to interact with the surrounding environment, communicate, and even relay our emotions in a variety of ways. As such, losing an upper-limb imposes severe limitations in our capacity to work and perform numerous social and daily living activities. The provision of upper-limb prostheses and proper rehabilitation services can improve the overall quality of life and independence. Nevertheless, researchers are puzzled by an alarming rate of prosthetic limb dissatisfaction and abandonment worldwide. Many users relate that current dexterous prostheses are just too difficult to control, probably due to the lack of sensory feedback. In fact, no matter how good or how sophisticated a prosthesis is, without sensation, it is just an artificial tool attached to the residual limb. To address those limitations, we propose a novel closed-sensorimotor-loop control to dramatically advance current upper-limb prostheses. The enhanced perception provided by our approach will promote skillful motor control, facilitate prosthesis embodiment, and improve overall satisfaction with the prosthesis.

ICT Executora: Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Programa de Pós-graduação em Engenharia Elétrica

ICT Parceira: Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, Estados Unidos da América

Artigos publicados:

da Costa, A.C.P.R., Siqueira Junior, A.L.D., de Castro Oliveira, F.A. et al. Electrodermal stimulation variant analysis for optimum perception in somatosensory feedback protocols. Res. Biomed. Eng. 38, 451–463 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42600-022-00199-y

Dyonísio, G., Dhainner, D. R., Carvalho, E. B. de, Macedo, T. A. A., Luppi, A. de M., & Soares, A. B. (2021). Investigação dos impactos da lesão medular traumática na estrutura neuroanatômica de áreas corticais sensoriomotoras. Revista De Medicina, 100(6), 570-577. https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.1679-9836.v100i6p570-577

Financiadores: 

Fundação Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES (bolsa)

Department of Defense office of the Congressionally Directed Medical Resear