Skill transfer of upper limb prosthesis control after training in a virtual reality environment

Background: Controlling a myoelectric arm prosthesis after amputation is a skill that is difficult to master and requires extensive training since muscles need to be activated in a specific manner. One novel type of training places the prosthesis user in a virtual reality environment (VRE) to train; however, it is not yet clear if skill transfer occurs from the training to actual prosthesis use.

Objective: The aim of the current study is to examine skill transfer of VRE training.

Methods: A total of 20 able-bodied participants were divided into two training groups. One group trained with a newly developed VRE system and the other trained using a prosthesis simulator. Both groups performed five training sessions in a pre-test/post-test design where functional control, motivation and perceived workload were measured.

Results: The results showed that both groups improved from pre-test to post-test on functional control and motivation but not on the workload. Interestingly, almost no differences in improvements between groups were found indicating that there was no difference in effectiveness between training methods.

Conclusion: Based on these results, we can conclude that we found skill transfer of VRE training. Therefore, VRE training is an effective training method for arm prosthesis control and has valuable potential for implementation in a rehabilitation setting.