Development of a prototype over-actuated biomimetic prosthetic hand.

The loss of a hand can greatly affect quality of life. A prosthetic device that can mimic normal hand function is very important to physical and mental recuperation after hand amputation, but the currently available prosthetics do not fully meet the needs of the amputee community. Most prosthetic ha...

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Main Authors: Matthew R Williams, Wayne Walter
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2015-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0118817
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author Matthew R Williams
Wayne Walter
author_facet Matthew R Williams
Wayne Walter
author_sort Matthew R Williams
collection DOAJ
description The loss of a hand can greatly affect quality of life. A prosthetic device that can mimic normal hand function is very important to physical and mental recuperation after hand amputation, but the currently available prosthetics do not fully meet the needs of the amputee community. Most prosthetic hands are not dexterous enough to grasp a variety of shaped objects, and those that are tend to be heavy, leading to discomfort while wearing the device. In order to attempt to better simulate human hand function, a dexterous hand was developed that uses an over-actuated mechanism to form grasp shape using intrinsic joint mounted motors in addition to a finger tendon to produce large flexion force for a tight grip. This novel actuation method allows the hand to use small actuators for grip shape formation, and the tendon to produce high grip strength. The hand was capable of producing fingertip flexion force suitable for most activities of daily living. In addition, it was able to produce a range of grasp shapes with natural, independent finger motion, and appearance similar to that of a human hand. The hand also had a mass distribution more similar to a natural forearm and hand compared to contemporary prosthetics due to the more proximal location of the heavier components of the system. This paper describes the design of the hand and controller, as well as the test results.
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spelling doaj.art-4432b8837e344d6590b0155f32296c0b2022-12-21T23:11:25ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032015-01-01103e011881710.1371/journal.pone.0118817Development of a prototype over-actuated biomimetic prosthetic hand.Matthew R WilliamsWayne WalterThe loss of a hand can greatly affect quality of life. A prosthetic device that can mimic normal hand function is very important to physical and mental recuperation after hand amputation, but the currently available prosthetics do not fully meet the needs of the amputee community. Most prosthetic hands are not dexterous enough to grasp a variety of shaped objects, and those that are tend to be heavy, leading to discomfort while wearing the device. In order to attempt to better simulate human hand function, a dexterous hand was developed that uses an over-actuated mechanism to form grasp shape using intrinsic joint mounted motors in addition to a finger tendon to produce large flexion force for a tight grip. This novel actuation method allows the hand to use small actuators for grip shape formation, and the tendon to produce high grip strength. The hand was capable of producing fingertip flexion force suitable for most activities of daily living. In addition, it was able to produce a range of grasp shapes with natural, independent finger motion, and appearance similar to that of a human hand. The hand also had a mass distribution more similar to a natural forearm and hand compared to contemporary prosthetics due to the more proximal location of the heavier components of the system. This paper describes the design of the hand and controller, as well as the test results.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0118817
spellingShingle Matthew R Williams
Wayne Walter
Development of a prototype over-actuated biomimetic prosthetic hand.
PLoS ONE
title Development of a prototype over-actuated biomimetic prosthetic hand.
title_full Development of a prototype over-actuated biomimetic prosthetic hand.
title_fullStr Development of a prototype over-actuated biomimetic prosthetic hand.
title_full_unstemmed Development of a prototype over-actuated biomimetic prosthetic hand.
title_short Development of a prototype over-actuated biomimetic prosthetic hand.
title_sort development of a prototype over actuated biomimetic prosthetic hand
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0118817
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