A Customizable Fitting Protocol for the Body-Machine Interface

In this work, we present a case study evaluation that compares two methods of fitting the Body-Machine Interface (BoMI) to an individual with cervical spinal cord injury for the purpose of operating a robotic arm in 6-D. A BoMI is a control interface created by recording body movements and mapping them to the controls of a device or machine, and has shown promise for individuals with motor impairments whose access to standard interfaces is otherwise limited. Results from this case study show a one-size-fits-all placement strategy is not a sufficient fitting method for an individual with severe upper extremity limitations. However, when a flexible fitting protocol informed by a clinical evaluation is applied, we see improvement in two key categories: (1) success in map fitting and (2) robot task results. Informed by the case study analyses, we develop a novel method to customize and fit the BoMI to users in a way that is analogous to how commonly used assistive technologies are fit clinically: the BoMI Customization Evaluation (BCE). This new method of customization is determined from a physical evaluation conducted by a clinician in conjunction with participant feedback and BoMI engineers. Deployment of this novel method within a full evaluation study is underway. The current work focuses on the evolution to this protocol.