VA Study To Optimize The Gen 2 Deka Arm: Qualitative Findings

In 2005 DARPA announced its "Revolutionizing Prosthetics" program and funded the development of the DEKA prosthetic arm. When the Gen 2 prototype DEKA Arm System became available for clinical research and testing, DARPA signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and provided additional funds to DEKA to support a VA Optimization Study of the DEKA Arm system. The purpose of this study was to obtain user feedback to inform design of the next prototype, the Gen 3 Arm.

The DEKA Arm is designed for users with amputations at the forequarter, shoulder disarticulation, transhumeral or transradial level. There are three versions available: shoulder configuration (SC), humeral configuration (HC) and radial configuration (RC). The Gen 2 Arms that we tested had 6 hand grips (power, chuck, lateral pinch, open pinch, closed pinch and tool grip), and used a variety of control inputs including EMGs, air bladders, and foot controls (Force Sensitive Resistors [FSR]) and Inertial Measurement Units [IMUs]).