NRI: Towards Restoring Natural Sensation of Hand Amputees via Wearable Surface Grid Electrodes

NRI：通过可穿戴表面网格电极恢复截肢者的自然感觉

基本信息

批准号：
1637892
负责人：
Xiaogang Hu
金额：
$ 100万
依托单位：
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
Standard Grant
财政年份：
2016
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2016-09-01 至 2020-08-31
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1637892&HistoricalAwards=false
关键词：
NRI Towards Restoring Natural Sensation

项目摘要

Hand amputation can severely limit the quality of life, for example by making it impossible to sense and manipulate objects, or to express gestures. Many robotic prosthetic hands have been developed to date, some of which have dexterity approaching that of a human hand, but a key factor limiting acceptance of these devices is the lack of natural and reliable sensory feedback to the user; the substitution of un-natural stimuli such as skin vibration, visual or audio cues doesn't really cut it. The PI's goal in this research is to explore the use of non-invasive grid electrodes for electrically stimulating the peripheral sensory nerves so they transmit natural (high resolution) haptic sensations to the central nervous system. Success of this project will revolutionize the way in which human beings communicate with robotic prostheses and transform research in close-loop prosthesis control, shifting amputee haptic sensation feedback from invasive implant techniques to non-invasive surface probing techniques. The non-invasive nature of the new technology presents the potential for rapid clinical translations with high functional efficiency and user acceptance. Thus, the research will lead to dramatic improvements in hand amputees' quality of life. In addition, the work will be integrated into graduate and undergraduate student education at the PI's institution, and outreach programs for K-12 students (especially underrepresented STEM students) will expose them to this innovative science.This highly creative project adopts an approach that is completely different from the existing techniques for providing sensory restoration/augmentation, and which is supported by the team's preliminary studies. First, the investigators will design a novel, non-invasive nanowire sensor array that will provide natural sensation of the missing hand. The thin-film electrode grid will be self-adhesive and highly stretchable. The multifunctional electrodes will be able not only to provide targeted nerve stimulation but also to record pressures applied on the prosthetic hand, so they can both obtain a rich set of haptic information and also deliver this information to the user accurately and precisely, while inducing minimal interference such as skin discomfort, added weight due to the device, and control signal interference. Second, the team will create a new way of affording sensory restoration by developing a dynamic stimulation scheme that encodes spatially distinct haptic sensations in the digits and palm. This will be achieved by selectively recruiting the various afferent fibers innervating different regions of the hand. The investigators believe that with high spatial resolution based on hand region mapping, the haptic feedback could for the first time enable users to truly perceive the environment by "using" their lost hand, and thereby push the sense of embodiment to a new level. Lastly, new knowledge will be obtained by quantifying the effect of the sensorimotor integration process on closed-loop control of a dexterous prosthetic hand in amputees.

手截肢会严重限制生活质量，例如，使其不可能有意义和操纵物体或表达手势。迄今为止，已经开发了许多机器人假肢，其中一些具有敏捷性接近人的手，但是限制这些设备的关键因素是缺乏向用户的自然和可靠的感觉反馈。替代非自然刺激，例如皮肤振动，视觉或音频提示并不能真正削减它。 PI在这项研究中的目标是探索使用非侵入性网格电极来电刺激周围感觉神经，以便它们向中枢神经系统传递自然（高分辨率）触觉。该项目的成功将彻底改变人类与机器人假体沟通的方式，并改变近环假体控制中的研究，将截肢者的触觉反馈从侵入性植入物技术转移到非侵入性的表面探测技术。新技术的非侵入性具有具有高功能效率和用户认可的快速临床翻译的潜力。因此，这项研究将导致手截肢者的生活质量的重大改善。此外，这项工作将纳入PI机构的研究生和本科学生教育，以及针对K-12学生（尤其是人为人数不足的STEM学生）的外展计划将使他们接触到这项创新的科学。这一高度创造性的项目采用了一种与现有技术的方法，该方法与现有的技术相同，用于提供感官恢复/增强/增强研究，并支持该团队的研究。首先，研究人员将设计一个新颖的非侵入性纳米线传感器阵列，该阵列将提供缺失的手段的自然感觉。薄膜电极网格将具有自粘和高度伸展感。多功能电极不仅能够提供针对性的神经刺激，还可以记录在假肢上施加的压力，因此它们都可以获取丰富的触觉信息，还可以准确，准确地将这些信息传递给用户，同时诱发最小的干扰，例如皮肤不适，由于设备而增加了皮肤不适，并控制了信号造成信号互换。其次，团队将通过开发动态刺激方案来创造一种新的方式来提供感官恢复，该方案在数字和手掌中编码在空间上不同的触觉感觉。这将通过选择性募集各种传入纤维来支配手的不同区域来实现这一目标。调查人员认为，通过基于手部区域映射的高空间分辨率，触觉反馈可以首次使用户通过“使用”丢失的手来真正感知环境，从而将体现的感觉推向新的水平。最后，将通过量化感觉运动积分过程对截肢者灵敏假肢的闭环控制的影响来获得新知识。

项目成果

期刊论文数量（14）

专著数量（0）

科研奖励数量（0）

会议论文数量（0）

专利数量（0）

Interference Removal From Electromyography Based on Independent Component Analysis

DOI：
10.1109/tnsre.2019.2910387
发表时间：
2019-04
期刊：
IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering
影响因子：
4.9
作者：
Yang Zheng;Xiaogang Hu
通讯作者：
Yang Zheng;Xiaogang Hu

Merged Haptic Sensation in the Hand during Concurrent Non-Invasive Proximal Nerve Stimulation

DOI：
10.1109/embc.2018.8512707
发表时间：
2018-07
期刊：
2018 40th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC)
影响因子：
0
作者：
Luis Vargas;H. Huang;Yong Zhu;Xiaogang Hu
通讯作者：
Luis Vargas;H. Huang;Yong Zhu;Xiaogang Hu

Comparing EMG-Based Human-Machine Interfaces for Estimating Continuous, Coordinated Movements