The clinical relevance of advanced artificial feedback in the control of a multi-functional myoelectric prosthesis.
Marko Markovic, Meike A Schweisfurth, Leonard F Engels and 4 others
PMID 29580245WHAT IT FOUND
In six upper-limb prosthesis users, vibration feedback added to prosthesis training helped some complex tasks become faster but did not help a simple block task.
Users found it useful, and benefit changed with practice and task.
Key findings
01Vibration feedback made task completion faster in the first session for block turning and clothespin relocation, and in the last session for cup relocation, but not in box and blocks.
02Users rated the feedback as comprehensible, pleasant and beneficial, and reported higher prosthesis embodiment with feedback than without feedback.
03In the final questionnaire, users said feedback in general and the tested coding scheme would be beneficial in daily life, and rated touch, force and function-switching similarly.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
Only six subjects were studied, with different amputation levels, sides, ages and prior prosthesis experience. The study did not compare the prosthesis with another prosthesis or a different training programme. First four subjects were also undergoing prosthetic fitting and sometimes had refined sockets, while two subjects were fitted with provisional sockets. Feedback was placed on the opposite forearm because transhumeral sockets left no space on the same side. The primary time or score measure and retries were not fully independent, so a faster time could still include time spent before an error. The design cannot separate learning from feedback from learning through repeated practice. Prosthesis embodiment was measured with a single question, so its increase should be interpreted cautiously.
Declared interests
The supplied text names BMBF and EC as funders and does not provide a separate conflicts-of-interest statement.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that vibration feedback will improve everyday prosthetic use for all tasks. In six users it made only some complex tasks faster, did not improve the simple block task, and the study did not test the prosthesis itself against another device.