Skip to main content
Duke University Libraries
DukeSpace Scholarship by Duke Authors
  • Login
  • Ask
  • Menu
  • Login
  • Ask a Librarian
  • Search & Find
  • Using the Library
  • Research Support
  • Course Support
  • Libraries
  • About
View Item 
  •   DukeSpace
  • Archival Collections
  • MEC Symposium Conference Proceedings
  • View Item
  •   DukeSpace
  • Archival Collections
  • MEC Symposium Conference Proceedings
  • View Item
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

Boston Elbow With Liniited Variable Joint Stiffness

Thumbnail
View / Download
190.4 Kb
Date
1997
Author
Smitts, Matthijs P.
Repository Usage Stats
378
views
230
downloads
Abstract
Perhaps more than anything, amputees want to engage in normal activities of daily living without attracting attention to their disability. Their best hope of achieving this is with a lifelike prosthesis that operates by means of naturally occurring control signals. Experiments have shown that the currently available elbow prostheses with proportional myocontrol and high joint stiffness provide significant drawbacks to this goal. Abul-Haj and Hogan argued that for slow, large-amplitude movements, the relationship between the level of muscle activity and the angular joint velocity is nonlinear in intact limbs. They replaced the proportional relationship with relationships that more closely mimic characteristics of the intact neuromuscular limb system Like a human joint, their system also provides final position estimation and uses co-contraction to modulate the stiffness of the prosthetic joint. Applied to an elbow prosthesis emulator, their "natural control" scheme showed superior performance over the curriently available prostheses, particularly during interaction with other objects. Variable joint stiffness can play a particularly crucial role in an amputee's success with a prosthesis For example, a high elbow stiffness is essential for amputees in such tasks as holding a glass of water or writing with a pen, whereas a low elbow stiffness is desired during interaction with constrained objects, such as a steering wheel, or to reduce the impact fiom an unexpected obstruction. With only very high or minimal joint stiffness in the current prostheses, many amputees have been required to use significant "body english" to complete certain tasks. Such requirements may lead to prosthesis rejection, as amputees tend to avoid activities that require unnatural movements. This paper describes an attempt to develop an adaptation to the Boston Elbow to accommodate variable joint stiffness.
Permalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/4884
Citation
From "MEC 97," Proceedings of the 1997 MyoElectric Controls/Powered Prosthetics Symposium Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada: August, 1997. Copyright University of New Brunswick.
Collections
  • MEC Symposium Conference Proceedings
More Info
Show full item record

Copyright 2002, 2005 and 2008, The University of New Brunswick.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Creative Commons License

Rights for Collection: MEC Symposium Conference Proceedings


Works are deposited here by their authors, and represent their research and opinions, not that of Duke University. Some materials and descriptions may include offensive content. More info

Make Your Work Available Here

How to Deposit

Browse

All of DukeSpaceCommunities & CollectionsAuthorsTitlesTypesBy Issue DateDepartmentsAffiliations of Duke Author(s)SubjectsBy Submit DateThis CollectionAuthorsTitlesTypesBy Issue DateDepartmentsAffiliations of Duke Author(s)SubjectsBy Submit Date

My Account

LoginRegister

Statistics

View Usage Statistics
Duke University Libraries

Contact Us

411 Chapel Drive
Durham, NC 27708
(919) 660-5870
Perkins Library Service Desk

Digital Repositories at Duke

  • Report a problem with the repositories
  • About digital repositories at Duke
  • Accessibility Policy
  • Deaccession and DMCA Takedown Policy

TwitterFacebookYouTubeFlickrInstagramBlogs

Sign Up for Our Newsletter
  • Re-use & Attribution / Privacy
  • Harmful Language Statement
  • Support the Libraries
Duke University