Learning to Control Opening and Closing a Myoelectric Hand

Bouwsema H, van der Sluis CK, Bongers RM. Learning to control opening and closing a myoelectric hand. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2010;91:1442-6.

Objective: To compare 3 different types of myoelectric signal training.

Design: A cohort analytic study.

Setting: University laboratory.

Participants: Able-bodied right-handed participants (N=34) randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups.

Interventions: Participants trained hand opening and closing on 3 consecutive days. One group trained with a virtual myoelectric hand presented on a computer screen, 1 group trained with an isolated prosthetic hand, and 1 group trained with a prosthetic simulator. One half of the participants trained with their dominant side, and the other half trained with their nondominant side. Before and after the training period, a test was administered to determine the improvement in skill. Participants were asked to open and close the hand on 3 different velocities at command.

Main Outcome Measures: Peak velocity, mean velocity, and number of peaks in the myoelectric signal of hand opening and closing.

Results: No differences were found for the different types of training; all participants learned to control the myoelectric hand. However, differences in learning abilities were revealed. After learning, a subgroup of the participants could produce clearly distinct myoelectric signals, which resulted in the ability to open and close the hand at 3 different speeds, whereas others could not produce distinct myoelectric signals.

Conclusions: Acquired control of a myoelectric hand is irrespective of the type of training. Prosthetic users may differ in learning capacity; this should be taken into account when choosing the appropriate type of control for each patient.