Neural feedback strategies to improve grasping coordination in neuromusculoskeletal prostheses
Open Access
- 16 July 2020
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Scientific Reports
- Vol. 10 (1), 1-14
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-67985-5
Abstract
Conventional prosthetic arms suffer from poor controllability and lack of sensory feedback. Owing to the absence of tactile sensory information, prosthetic users must rely on incidental visual and auditory cues. In this study, we investigated the effect of providing tactile perception on motor coordination during routine grasping and grasping under uncertainty. Three transhumeral amputees were implanted with an osseointegrated percutaneous implant system for direct skeletal attachment and bidirectional communication with implanted neuromuscular electrodes. This neuromusculoskeletal prosthesis is a novel concept of artificial limb replacement that allows to extract control signals from electrodes implanted on viable muscle tissue, and to stimulate severed afferent nerve fibers to provide somatosensory feedback. Subjects received tactile feedback using three biologically inspired stimulation paradigms while performing a pick and lift test. The grasped object was instrumented to record grasping and lifting forces and its weight was either constant or unexpectedly changed in between trials. The results were also compared to the no-feedback control condition. Our findings confirm, in line with the neuroscientific literature, that somatosensory feedback is necessary for motor coordination during grasping. Our results also indicate that feedback is more relevant under uncertainty, and its effectiveness can be influenced by the selected neuromodulation paradigm and arguably also the prior experience of the prosthesis user.Funding Information
- VINNOVA
- Vetenskapsrådet
- European Commission (687905, 687905, 687905, 687905, 687905, 687905, 687905, 687905, 687905)
- Stiftelsen Promobilia
- European Research Council (679820)
This publication has 61 references indexed in Scilit:
- The role of feed-forward and feedback processes for closed-loop prosthesis controlJournal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation, 2011
- Uncertainty of feedback and state estimation determines the speed of motor adaptationFrontiers in Computational Neuroscience, 2010
- Coding and use of tactile signals from the fingertips in object manipulation tasksNature Reviews Neuroscience, 2009
- Preserved and Impaired Aspects of Feed-Forward Grip Force Control After Chronic Somatosensory DeafferentationNeurorehabilitation and Neural Repair, 2007
- Myoelectric signal processing for control of powered limb prosthesesJournal of Electromyography and Kinesiology, 2006
- Lighter or Heavier Than Predicted: Neural Correlates of Corrective Mechanisms during Erroneously Programmed LiftsJournal of Neuroscience, 2006
- Direct neural sensory feedback and control of a prosthetic armIEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering, 2005
- Residual function in peripheral nerve stumps of amputees: implications for neural control of artificial limbsThe Journal of Hand Surgery, 2004
- Bayesian integration in sensorimotor learningNature, 2004
- MICROSTIMULATION OF SINGLE TACTILE AFFERENTS FROM THE HUMAN HANDBrain, 1984