Development of a sensory feedback system in hand prostheses.

This master thesis is about improvement, optimization and further development of the sensory feedback in a prosthetic hand previously investigated at the department of Biomedical Engineering in Lund. The first approach will be to investigate and further see into the need of a sensory feedback in hand prostheses. There were several reports that showed that the lack of sensory feedback in hand prostheses increased the rejection factor for the user. The aim will be to investigate necessary functions needed in a sensory feedback system in hand prosthesis and look into appropriate hardware that fulfills these requirements. The core hardware is built on two Arduino Nano circuits. The force sensing sensors, electromyography sensors and the sensory feedback vibrators are the main components for the setup. To fully utilize the capacity of the micro controllers and to fulfill the requirements in the aim components such as a real time clock, data logger, Bluetooth and a calibration mode will be applied in the setup. Subsequently a printed circuit board will be developed while investigating the robustness, rapidity and stability of the Arduino setup. The result of this project is ready to test EMG controlled hand prosthesis with sensory feedback. The response time is around 6 ms. In addition to this, several features have been added to the setup such as an calibration mode with Bluetooth interface, a real time clock and the opportunity to store information on an SD card. An implemented sleep mode that makes the setup as power saving as possible is also implemented.Vibrotactile sensory feedback in hand prostheses Reports showed that the lack of sensory feedback in myoelectric hand prostheses increased the rejection factor for the user. Purpose: The aim will be to investigate necessary functions needed in a sensory feedback system in a hand prosthesis and look into appropriate hardware that fulfills these requirements. Methods: The core hardware is built on two Arduino Nano circuits. The force sensing sensors, electromyography sensors and the sensory feedback vibrators are the main components for the setup. Results: This project is ready to test electromyographic controlled hand prosthesis with sensory feedback. In addition to this, several features have been added to the setup such as an calibration mode with Bluetooth interface, a real time clock and the opportunity to store information on an SD card. Conclusions: Even though this project resulted in a successful, functioning sensory feedback system, it needs to be evaluated and preferably on amputees