Examining the physical and psychological effects of combining multimodal feedback with continuous control in prosthetic hands

Abstract: Myoelectric prosthetic hands are typically controlled to move between discrete positions and do not provide sensory feedback to the user. In this work, we present and evaluate a closed-loop, continuous myoelectric prosthetic hand controller, that can continuously control the position of multiple degrees of freedom of a prosthesis while rendering proprioceptive feedback to the user via a haptic feedback armband. Twenty-eight participants without and ten participants with limb difference were recruited to holistically evaluate the physical and psychological effects of the controller via isolated control and sensory tasks, dexterity assessments, embodiment and task load questionnaires, and post-study interviews. The combination of proprioceptive feedback and continuous control enabled accurate positioning, to within 10% mean absolute motor position error, and grasp-force modulation, to within 20% mean absolute motor force error, and restored blindfolded object identification ability to open-loop discrete controller levels. Dexterity assessment and embodiment questionnaire results revealed no significant physical performance or psychological embodiment differences between control types, with the exception of perceived sensation, which was significantly higher (p < 0.001) for closed-loop controllers. Key differences between participants with and without upper limb difference were identified, including in perceived body completeness and frustration, which can inform future prosthesis development and rehabilitation.