RT Journal Article
T1 Integrated and flexible multichannel interface for electrotactile stimulation
A1 Štrbac, Matija
A1 Belić, Minja
A1 Isaković, Milica
A1 Kojić, Vladimir
A1 Bijelić, Goran
A1 Popović, Igor
A1 Radotić, Milutin
A1 Došen, Strahinja
A1 Marković, Marko
A1 Farina, Dario
A1 Keller, Thierry
AB Objective. The aim of the present work was to develop and test a flexible electrotactile stimulation system to provide real-time feedback to the prosthesis user. The system requirements were to accommodate the capabilities of advanced multi-DOF myoelectric hand prostheses and transmit the feedback variables (proprioception and force) using intuitive coding, with high resolution and after minimal training. Approach. We developed a fully-programmable and integrated electrotactile interface supporting time and space distributed stimulation over custom designed flexible array electrodes. The system implements low-level access to individual stimulation channels as well as a set of high-level mapping functions translating the state of a multi-DoF prosthesis (aperture, grasping force, wrist rotation) into a set of predefined dynamic stimulation profiles. The system was evaluated using discrimination tests employing spatial and frequency coding (10 able-bodied subjects) and dynamic patterns (10 able-bodied and 6 amputee subjects). The outcome measure was the success rate (SR) in discrimination. Main results. The more practical electrode with the common anode configuration performed similarly to the more usual concentric arrangement. The subjects could discriminate six spatial and four frequency levels with SR >90% after a few minutes of training, whereas the performance significantly deteriorated for more levels. The dynamic patterns were intuitive for the subjects, although amputees showed lower SR than able-bodied individuals (86% 10% versus 99% 3%). Significance. The tests demonstrated that the system was easy to setup and apply. The design and resolution of the multipad electrode was evaluated. Importantly, the novel dynamic patterns, which were successfully tested, can be superimposed to transmit multiple feedback variables intuitively and simultaneously. This is especially relevant for closing the loop in modern multifunction prostheses. Therefore, the proposed system is convenient for practical applications and can be used to implement sensory perception training and/or closed-loop control of myoelectric prostheses, providing grasping force and proprioceptive feedback.
SN 1741-2560
YR 2016
FD 2016-06-14
LK https://hdl.handle.net/11556/2975
UL https://hdl.handle.net/11556/2975
LA eng
NO Štrbac , M , Belić , M , Isaković , M , Kojić , V , Bijelić , G , Popović , I , Radotić , M , Došen , S , Marković , M , Farina , D & Keller , T 2016 , ' Integrated and flexible multichannel interface for electrotactile stimulation ' , Journal of Neural Engineering , vol. 13 , no. 4 , 046014 . https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-2560/13/4/046014
NO Publisher Copyright: © 2016 IOP Publishing Ltd.
NO European Commission under the MYOSENS (FP7-PEOPLE-2011-IAPP-286208) projects, and by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of Serbia (Project no. 175016).
DS TECNALIA Publications
RD 26 jul 2024