ASET Technology Alberta Fall 2022 - 15

feature
3D scanning and printing can allow for highly personalized
prosthetics for those with conditions like amniotic band syndrome.
Image courtesy of Yuxin Tong and PLOS ONE.
Literature around usage has shown that children in particular
are not comfortable wearing their prosthetics for long periods,
because of discomfort caused by a buildup of force/
pressure in one specific area. " By putting the pressure sensors
into the interface, we're starting to learn where those
forces might be accumulated at some sort of spot, and how
we can help release that pressure accumulation by updating
the designs in prosthetic hands, " Tong explains.
Closer to home, the researchers at
the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital
in Edmonton have also been studying
ways to refine prosthetics for their
patients. Michael Cimolini, technology
service lead at the Glenrose, says
their team has been exploring the
future of prosthetics through multiple
avenues. The first of these is a
means for more direct prosthetic
attachment.
" There's been a lot of work happening in our prosthetics
group with bone anchored prostheses. A standard prostheses
is usually like a cup and sleeve system that goes over the
residual limb. So, they don't really connect to the body; it's
just sort of on there, much like you'd be wearing a glove or a
shoe or something like that, " he explains.
" With a bone anchored prostheses, they actually modify the
bone structure and insert an anchor point directly into that
bone, usually a titanium rod, or ball or socket, or things like
that depending on where the amputation is. And then the
prosthesis connects directly to that part. "
Cimolini points to the LUKE arm project as another route
experts in the field have focused on. This area, named after
Luke Skywalker and his mechanical arm, is based on the
idea of myoelectric prostheses. Instead of being controlled
by a lever system, a prosthetic would be controlled by a mild
electric system that picks up on reanimated muscle targeting.
" Combining the two of these has been an ongoing research
project for probably about the last 12 to 13 years at
the Glenrose. We're finally starting to see them implemented
with some of our patients, " he says.
" It's sort of combining the two best in class on both sides
of the prosthetic market to create something a little bit new
that gives the patients the benefits of the bone anchoring,
so the limb feels a little bit more stable, " Cimolini says. " You
can actually feel it through your bone and your musculature.
So, there's a lot better feedback, and we've seen some decreases
in phantom limb syndrome because of it. " Patients
could also more reliably and easily perform nuanced actions
like rotating their wrists and opening and closing fingers.
Stronger feedback and more information can lead to a
point at which developers can create prostheses so lifelike
as to be indistinguishable from the body parts replaced.
" To achieve that, we kind of need a tool to understand
how the user is working with the current tool right now.
And they're using that information to guide future designs, "
Tong explains.
Cimolini echoes Tong's sentiment that the long-term goal
with prostheses will focus on creating the most integrated
limb possible. Instead of being used on the skin, sensors
could be embedded sub dermally and tied directly to the
central nervous system, allowing for direct control of the
prosthesis straight from the patient's brain. This would circumvent
the need to retrain and relearn how to coordinate
muscles.
TECHNOLOGY ALBERTA | FALL 2022 | 15
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1080/03093640600994581 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1080/03093640600994581
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