Hybrid Tongue - Myoelectric Control Improves Functional Use of a Robotic Hand Prosthesis

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Rehabilitation Technology
• Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

• Prosthetic limb control remains a challenge, often relying on complex or sequential myoelectric signal interpretation.
• Existing control schemes can limit the speed and dexterity of prosthetic hand use in daily activities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the functional performance of a novel hybrid control scheme for prosthetic hands.
• To compare a new Tongue and Myoelectric Hybrid (TMH) interface with conventional myoelectric control.

Main Methods:

• Ten able-bodied participants used a SmartHand prosthesis with both conventional myoelectric control and the TMH interface.
• Participants performed standardized daily living tasks, including sandwich preparation and gift wrapping.
• Task completion times were recorded to measure functional performance.

Main Results:

• The TMH interface resulted in a significant 19% reduction in completion time for the sandwich task compared to conventional control (p < 0.05).
• Faster task completion indicates improved efficiency with the novel hybrid control system.

Conclusions:

• The TMH control scheme simplifies grasp selection, enhancing the active use of prosthetic devices.
• This hybrid approach shows potential for faster completion of complex, bimanual tasks, improving prosthetic functionality.