Control of FES thumb force using slip information obtained from the cutaneous electroneurogram in quadriplegic man

A tetraplegic volunteer was implanted with percutaneous intramuscular electrodes in hand and forearm muscles. Furthermore, a sensory nerve cuff electrode was implanted on the volar digital nerve to the radial side of the index finger branching off the median nerve. In laboratory experiments a stimulation system was used to produce a lateral grasp (key grip) while the neural activity was recorded with the cuff electrode. The nerve signal contained information that could be used to detect the occurrence of slips and further to increase stimulation intensity to the thumb flexor/adductor muscles to stop the slip. Thereby the system provided a grasp that could catch an object if it started to slip due to, e.g., decreasing muscle force or changes in load forces tangential to the surface of the object. This method enabled an automatic adjustment of the stimulation intensity to the lowest possible level without loosing the grip and without any prior knowledge about the strength of the muscles and the weight and surface texture of the object.