Multiperspective analysis reveals neurorobotic sensory and motor fusion in a bionic system promotes intrinsic neural behaviors.

No abstract

BackgroundSuccessful hand-object interactions require precise hand-eye coordination with continual movement adjustments. Quantitative measurement of this visuomotor behaviour could provide valuable insight into upper limb impairments. The Gaze and Movement Assessment (GaMA) was developed to provide protocols for simultaneous motion capture and eye tracking during the administration of two functional tasks, along with data analysis methods to generate standard measures of visuomotor behaviour. The objective of this study was to investigate the reproducibility of the GaMA protocol across two independent groups of non-disabled participants, with different raters using different motion capture and eye tracking technology.MethodsTwenty non-disabled adults performed the Pasta Box Task and the Cup Transfer Task. Upper body and eye movements were recorded using motion capture and eye tracking, respectively. Measures of hand movement, angular joint kinematics, and eye gaze were compared to those from a different sample of twenty non-disabled adults who had previously performed the same protocol with different technology, rater and site.ResultsParticipants took longer to perform the tasks versus those from the earlier study, although the relative time of each movement phase was similar. Measures that were dissimilar between the groups included hand distances travelled, hand trajectories, number of movement units, eye latencies, and peak angular velocities. Similarities included all hand velocity and grip aperture measures, eye fixations, and most peak joint angle and range of motion measures.DiscussionThe reproducibility of GaMA was confirmed by this study, despite a few differences introduced by learning effects, task demonstration variation, and limitations of the kinematic model. GaMA accurately quantifies the typical behaviours of a non-disabled population, producing precise quantitative measures of hand function, trunk and angular joint kinematics, and associated visuomotor behaviour. This work advances the consideration for use of GaMA in populations with upper limb sensorimotor impairment.

Background Research studies on upper limb prosthesis function often rely on the use of simulated myoelectric prostheses (attached to and operated by individuals with intact limbs), primarily to increase participant sample size. However, it is not known if these devices elicit the same movement strategies as myoelectric prostheses (operated by individuals with amputation). The objective of this study was to address the question of whether non-disabled individuals using simulated prostheses employ the same compensatory movements (measured by hand and upper body kinematics) as individuals who use actual myoelectric prostheses. Methods The upper limb movements of two participant groups were investigated: (1) twelve non-disabled individuals wearing a simulated prosthesis, and (2) three individuals with transradial amputation using their custom-fitted myoelectric devices. Motion capture was used for data collection while participants performed a standardized functional task. Performance metrics, hand movements, and upper body angular kinematics were calculated. For each participant group, these measures were compared to those from a normative baseline dataset. Each deviation from normative movement behaviour, by either participant group, indicated that compensatory movements were used during task performance. Results Results show that participants using either a simulated or actual myoelectric prosthesis exhibited similar deviations from normative behaviour in phase durations, hand velocities, hand trajectories, number of movement units, grip aperture plateaus, and trunk and shoulder ranges of motion. Conclusions This study suggests that the use of a simulated prosthetic device in upper limb research offers a reasonable approximation of compensatory movements employed by a low- to moderately-skilled transradial myoelectric prosthesis user.

No abstract