Browsing by Author "Biden, E."

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    A STUDY OF THE USE OF COMPENSATION MOTIONS WHEN USING PROSTHETIC WRISTS
    (2008) Zinck, A.; Kyberd, P.; Hill, W.; Bush, G.; Stavdahl, Ø.; Biden, E.; Fraser, K.
    It is well known that the functional capability of a prosthetic hand is less than that of the natural hand and thus it cannot perform the majority of the tasks a natural hand does, as well or as easily. Of the many consequences from this circumstance is that the prosthetic hand is generally used in a support role when there is a contralateral natural hand available. This is because the prosthesis is unable to grasp objects as flexibly as the natural hand. It is known, from splinting studies of the wrists of unimpaired volunteers, that if the person is not able to present the hand in the correct orientation, even the most flexible hand cannot perform prehensile tasks easily, [1,2]. In the prosthetic circumstance, without a wrist to orientate the hand relative to the object, conventional terminal devices do not grasp as effectively. The user must move their arm in a different way, that allows the prosthesis to be presented to the target in an orientation that will facilitate a secure grasp. A result from this is that there is a very real risk that these compensatory motions use greater ranges of motion, larger forces, or occur more often than necessary with a natural hand. Kidd et al [3], observed that these are three of the conditions likely to induce the changes in the musculoskeletal system that are referred to as injuries of overuse. There are few long term studies of the effect of overuse in prosthesis wearers. It is a well known observation amongst the clinicians that users who do not use their prostheses tend to suffer from the sort of degenerative changes associated with overuse. Less still is known about the effect of the compensatory actions of the contralateral limb.
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    Control Of Powered Prosthetics Using Bend-Enhanced Fibre Optic Sensors
    (1993) Lovely, D. F.; Hudgins, B.; Danisch, L.; Caldwell, R.; Daly, J. A.; Biden, E.
    Powered prosthetics have bezome the accepted method of replacing litnb function lost by traumatic or congenital amputations. The control of these devices is accomplished by either mechanical switches or by switches based on the kvel of myoelectric activity, Although both approaches provide excellent solutions, there are problems inherent with mechanical and myoeletric control (MEC). Because the mechanical switches used in the prosthetic industry must be small, they lack durability and often fail. For myoelectrically controlled systems a total contact socket is required to minimise the effects of motion artifact and to allow continuous detection of the myoelectric signal (MES) This is often difficult to obtain and leads to signal contamination by 60 Hz interference. Furthermore, perspiration disrupts normal myoelectric signal detection leading to a loss of control To overcome these problems the Institute of Biomedical Engineering has begun to investiga the use of a bend-enhanced fibre (BEF) optical sensor to construct an in-socket transducer for prosthetic control.
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    Design Of A Prosthetic Elbow For Elbow Disarticulation Amputations
    (1993) Hughes, G.; Biden, E.; Olive, M.; Young, W.; Wedderburn, Z.; Caldwell, R.; Stocker, D.
    Long above elbow and elbow disarticulation amputations pose a problem in fitting as the residual limb is nearly the same length as the upper arm on the sound side. Although these problems have been recognized for some time, no currently available elbows offer a complete solution. Conventional fittings, whether they einploy an elbow system attached to the end of the socket or use outside hinges, either make the limb geometry unnatural or restrict the ability to provide humeral rotation and a powered joint. The objective of the work described in this paper is to develop prosthetic elbowsfor long above elbow amputations which do not have these limitations Our work, as described here, has focused on multi-link mechanisms much as are used for knee disarticulation prostheses. The additional challenge in the upper limb case is to provide active locking of the joint, which is not usually a re,quirement other than at full extension for the knee, and to provide for powered operation.
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    USING GROSS MOTOR ACTIVITIES TO ASSESS UPPER LIMB PROSTHETIC FUNCTION
    (2005) Biden, E.; Ross, M.; Chester, V.; Bush, G.; Hill, W.; Tingley, M.; MacPhee, B.; Brown, L.
    For children with unilateral below elbow limb loss, many of the activities for which a prosthesis is of value involve gross motor function during play. To assess function in these activities we studied normally limbed children and children using below elbow powered prostheses while they performed various tasks. This paper is focused on two tasks, swinging on a swing, and zipping up a vest. The study had three primary objectives: 1. To collect data for normally limbed children to provide baseline data, 2. To collect data for children who use either a single degree of freedom friction wrist or an “omniwrist”, and 3. To compare the results for users of the two types of wrist to their normally limbed peers. The two tasks chosen represent two different types of activity. The swing has a cycle time or rhythm which is determined principally by the length of the ropes. As a result the child who is swinging must react to the activity on a time scale which is out of their control. By comparison the zipper task is one where the child can simply slow down, to whatever extent needed, in order to be able to perform it. The strategy of taking more time is a common one if activities are difficult to accomplish.