Towards User-Centred Prosthetics Research Beyond the Laboratory

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore a range of perspectives on how academic research and clinical assessment of upper-limb prosthetics could happen in environments outside of laboratories and clinics, such as within peoples’ homes. Two co-creation workshops were held, which included people who use upper limb prosthetic devices (hereafter called users), clinicians, academics, a policy stakeholder, and a representative from the upper-limb prosthetics industry (hereafter called professionals). The discussions during the workshops indicate that research and clinical assessment conducted remotely from a laboratory or clinic could inform future solutions that address user needs. Users were open to the idea of sharing sensor and contextual data from within their homes to external laboratories during research studies. However, this was dependent upon several considerations, such as choice and control over data collection. Regarding clinical assessment, users had reservations of how data may be used to inform future prosthetic prescriptions whilst, clinicians were concerned with resource implications and capacity to process user data. The paper presents findings of the discussions shared by participants during both workshops. The paper concludes with a conjecture that collecting sensor and contextual data from users within their home environment will contribute towards literature within the field, and potentially inform future care policies for upper limb prosthetics. The involvement of users during such studies will be critical and can be enabled via a co-creation approach. In the short term, this may be achieved through academic research studies, which may in the long term inform a framework for clinical in-home trials and clinical remote assessment.

Improving access to prosthetic limbs in Germany: An explorative review

“…Even if a prosthesis has proven to be highly beneficial and efficient in clinical trials and HTAs, this finding does not necessarily apply to the entire health care system and all home settings. 26 Deficits in the prosthetic care process, e.g., regarding information for patients, and a lack of capacities, e.g., for gait training, were identified many years ago in Germany, 27 , 28 yet there has been no systematic follow-up to these findings. As a third pillar, continuous and holistic research on the prosthetic care process and evidence-based guidelines, 1 , 29 also including social and psychological aspects, could thus help increase the efficiency and quality of prosthetic care.…”

Investigating motor skill in closed-loop myoelectric hand prostheses: Through speed-accuracy trade-offs

“…Measuring SAFs gives us a comprehensive overview of the performance characteristics afforded by interfaces. Such a detailed characterization can aid in meta-analytic comparison of interfaces, and for the development of user-specific approaches (Jabban et al, 2022;Jones et al, 2022), where user priorities (such as reliable accuracy vs speed) can be satisfied when choosing an interface. In a similar vein, monitoring user skill using SAFs enables us to rigorously ensure training positive outcomes.…”