A Lightweight Transradial Hand Prosthesis with a Variable Position Thumb and Thermoregulation

Abstract

Active transradial prostheses research has been rapidly progressing in large parts due to the advent of additive manufacturing. However, commercially available prostheses are far from being affordable. Even with advanced or affordable prostheses available in research and in the commercial sector, the device abandonment rate has been quite high. The design investigation provides a description of a low-cost 3D-printed prosthetic hand aimed at addressing the top reasons for device abandonment, by devicing a new prosthesis hand-arm system that is light in weight, promotes active cooling of the residual limb and is cost-effective. Surface EMG (s-EMG) signals are acquired from the residual limb muscles and the processed signals are inferred into a simplified hand and wrist activity. The prosthesis discussed below consists of a 14-DOF, single degree of actuation robotic hand, with a rotary thumb. This is interfaced with a rotary wrist, which is mounted on an actively cooled residual limb interface that house the required control electronics and the s-EMG sensors.