1,720,965 research outputs found
Multichannel electrotactile feedback for simultaneous and proportional myoelectric control
No full textObjective. Closing the loop in myoelectric prostheses by providing artificial somatosensory feedback to the user is an important need for prosthetic users. Previous studies investigated feedback strategies in combination with the control of one degree of freedom of simple grippers. Modern hands, however, are sophisticated multifunction systems. In this study, we assessed multichannel electrotactile feedback integrated with an advanced method for the simultaneous and proportional control of individual fingers of a dexterous hand. Approach. The feedback used spatial and frequency coding to provide information on the finger positions (normalized flexion angles). A comprehensive set of conditions have been investigated in 28 able-bodied subjects, including feedback modalities (visual, electrotactile and no feedback), control tasks (fingers and grasps), systems (virtual and real hand), control methods (ideal and realistic) and range of motion (low and high). The task for the subjects was to operate the hand using closed-loop myoelectric control and generate the desired movement (e.g., selected finger or grasp at a specific level of closure). Main results. The subjects could perceive the multichannel and multivariable electrotactile feedback and effectively exploit it to improve the control performance with respect to open-loop grasping. The improvement however depended on the reliability of the feedforward control, with less consistent control exhibiting performance trends that were more complex across the conditions. Significance. The results are promising for the potential application of advanced feedback to close the control loop in sophisticated prosthetic systems
A classification method for myoelectric control of hand prostheses inspired by muscle coordination
Full text linkDexterous upper-limb myoelectric prostheses can, to some extent, restore the motor functions lost after an amputation. However, ensuring the reliability of myoelectric control is still an open challenge. In this study, we propose a classification method that exploits the regularity in muscle activation patterns (uniform scaling) across different force levels within a given movement class. This assumption leads to a simple training procedure, using training data collected at single contraction intensity for each movement class. The proposed method was compared to the widely accepted benchmark (LDA classifier) using offline and online evaluation. The offline classification errors obtained with the new method were either lower or higher than LDA depending upon the chosen feature set. In the online evaluation, the new classification method was operated using amplitude-EMG features and compared to the state-of-the-art LDA classifier combined with the time domain feature set. The online evaluation was performed in 11 able-bodied and an amputee subject using a set of four functional tasks mimicking daily-life activities. The tasks assessed the dexterity (e.g. switching between functions) and robustness of control (e.g. handling heavy objects). With the new classification scheme, the amputee performed better in all functional tasks whereas the able-bodied subjects performed significantly better in three out of four functional tasks. Overall, the novel method outperformed the state-of-the-art approach (LDA) while utilizing less training data and a smaller feature set. The proposed method is, therefore, a simple but effective and robust classification scheme, convenient for online implementation and clinical use.</p
Context-dependent adaptation improves robustness of myoelectric control for upper-limb prostheses
Full text linkObjective. Dexterous upper-limb prostheses are available today to restore grasping, but an effective and reliable feed-forward control is still missing. The aim of this work was to improve the robustness and reliability of myoelectric control by using context information from sensors embedded within the prosthesis. Approach. We developed a context-driven myoelectric control scheme (cxMYO) that incorporates the inference of context information from proprioception (inertial measurement unit) and exteroception (force and grip aperture) sensors to modulate the outputs of myoelectric control. Further, a realistic evaluation of the cxMYO was performed online in able-bodied subjects using three functional tasks, during which the cxMYO was compared to a purely machine-learning-based myoelectric control (MYO). Main results. The results demonstrated that utilizing context information decreased the number of unwanted commands, improving the performance (success rate and dropped objects) in all three functional tasks. Specifically, the median number of objects dropped per round with cxMYO was zero in all three tasks and a significant increase in the number of successful transfers was seen in two out of three functional tasks. Additionally, the subjects reported better user experience. Significance. This is the first online evaluation of a method integrating information from multiple on-board prosthesis sensors to modulate the output of a machine-learning-based myoelectric controller. The proposed scheme is general and presents a simple, non-invasive and cost-effective approach for improving the robustness of myoelectric control.</p
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
A Novel Physiologically-Inspired Method for Myoelectric Prosthesis Control Using Pattern Classification
No full textVariations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
- …
