A surface EMG test tool to measure proportional prosthetic control

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Rehabilitation Science
• Neuroprosthetics

Background:

• Prosthetic control training is crucial for upper limb amputees, focusing on selective proportional control signals.
• Current functional monitoring tests are not suitable for the early stages of training.
• Early assessment is vital to determine a patient's potential for controlling prosthetic devices and guide training strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a novel tool for predicting achievable voluntary electromyography (EMG) control in upper limb amputees.
• To support the preparation of training and prosthetic fitting by assessing individual muscle group control potential.
• To validate the predictive capability of the surface EMG (sEMG) test tool against established measures.

Main Methods:

• Development and application of a novel surface EMG (sEMG) test tool.
• Assessment of voluntary EMG control in individual muscle groups.
• Validation of sEMG test tool predictions using SHAP (Shapley Additive exPlanations) outcome measures.

Main Results:

• The sEMG test tool accurately predicted suitability for myoelectric training in four out of five patients.
• Predictions correlated well with SHAP outcome measures (e.g., Good: 85/100, Average: 78/100).
• One patient showed high sEMG scores but low SHAP scores due to lack of motivation, highlighting the need for patient engagement.

Conclusions:

• The developed sEMG test tool shows high potential for predicting achievable voluntary control skills in upper limb amputees.
• This tool can aid in optimizing prosthetic training and fitting by identifying patient potential early.
• Further clinical validation is required to fully establish the technique's efficacy in real-world rehabilitation settings.