Estimation of distal arm joint angles from EMG and shoulder orientation for transhumeral prostheses

In this paper, we quantify the extent to which shoulder orientation, upper-arm electromyography (EMG), and forearm EMG are predictors of distal arm joint angles during reaching in eight subjects without disability as well as three subjects with a unilateral transhumeral amputation and targeted reinnervation. Prior studies have shown that shoulder orientation and upper-arm EMG, taken separately, are predictors of both elbow flexion/extension and forearm pronation/supination. We show that, for eight subjects without disability, shoulder orientation and upper-arm EMG together are a significantly better predictor of both elbow flexion/extension during unilateral () and mirrored bilateral () reaches and of forearm pronation/supination during unilateral () and mirrored bilateral () reaches.

Source: Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology - June 11, 2017 Category: Neurology Authors: Aadeel Akhtar, Navid Aghasadeghi, Levi Hargrove, Timothy Bretl Source Type: research