Affiliations: [a] Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA | [b] Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, IL, USA | [c] Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
Correspondence:
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Address for correspondence: Todd Kuiken, MD, PhD, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Rm. 1124, 345 E. Superior St., Chicago, IL 60611, USA. Tel.: +1 312 238 8072; Fax: +1 312 238 1166; E-mail: tkuiken@rehabchicago.org.
Abstract: Improving the function of artificial arms remains a considerable challenge, especially for high-level amputations where the disability is greatest. It may be possible to denervate expendable regions of muscle in or near an amputated limb and graft the residual peripheral nerves to this muscle. The surface EMG signals from the nerve-muscle grafts would then be used as additional control signals for an externally powered prosthesis. Such a system would allow the simultaneous control of multiple degrees-of-freedom in a prosthesis and could greatly improve the function of myoelectric prostheses. The potential advantages, requirements for successful implementation and synergies with other research are discussed.
