Luke E Osborn1,2, Keqin Ding1, Mark A Hays1, Rohit Bose3,4, Mark M Iskarous1, Andrei Dragomir3,5, Zied Tayeb6, György M Lévay7,8, Christopher L Hunt1, Gordon Cheng6, Robert S Armiger2, Anastasios Bezerianos3,9, Matthew S Fifer2, Nitish V Thakor1,3,10. 1. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States of America. 2. Research & Exploratory Development Department, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD, United States of America. 3. N.1 Institute for Health, National University of Singapore, Singapore. 4. Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States of America. 5. Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, TX, United States of America. 6. Institute for Cognitive Systems, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany. 7. Infinite Biomedical Technologies, Baltimore, MD, United States of America. 8. Faculty of Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary. 9. Department of Medical Physics, University of Patras, Patras, Greece. 10. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States of America.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: A major challenge for controlling a prosthetic arm is communication between the device and the user's phantom limb. We show the ability to enhance phantom limb perception and improve movement decoding through targeted transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation in individuals with an arm amputation. APPROACH: Transcutaneous nerve stimulation experiments were performed with four participants with arm amputation to map phantom limb perception. We measured myoelectric signals during phantom hand movements before and after participants received sensory stimulation. Using electroencephalogram (EEG) monitoring, we measured the neural activity in sensorimotor regions during phantom movements and stimulation. In one participant, we also tracked sensory mapping over 2 years and movement decoding performance over 1 year. MAIN RESULTS: Results show improvements in the participants' ability to perceive and move the phantom hand as a result of sensory stimulation, which leads to improved movement decoding. In the extended study with one participant, we found that sensory mapping remains stable over 2 years. Sensory stimulation improves within-day movement decoding while performance remains stable over 1 year. From the EEG, we observed cortical correlates of sensorimotor integration and increased motor-related neural activity as a result of enhanced phantom limb perception. SIGNIFICANCE: This work demonstrates that phantom limb perception influences prosthesis control and can benefit from targeted nerve stimulation. These findings have implications for improving prosthesis usability and function due to a heightened sense of the phantom hand.
OBJECTIVE: A major challenge for controlling a prosthetic arm is communication between the device and the user's phantom limb. We show the ability to enhance phantom limb perception and improve movement decoding through targeted transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation in individuals with an arm amputation. APPROACH: Transcutaneous nerve stimulation experiments were performed with four participants with arm amputation to map phantom limb perception. We measured myoelectric signals during phantom hand movements before and after participants received sensory stimulation. Using electroencephalogram (EEG) monitoring, we measured the neural activity in sensorimotor regions during phantom movements and stimulation. In one participant, we also tracked sensory mapping over 2 years and movement decoding performance over 1 year. MAIN RESULTS: Results show improvements in the participants' ability to perceive and move the phantom hand as a result of sensory stimulation, which leads to improved movement decoding. In the extended study with one participant, we found that sensory mapping remains stable over 2 years. Sensory stimulation improves within-day movement decoding while performance remains stable over 1 year. From the EEG, we observed cortical correlates of sensorimotor integration and increased motor-related neural activity as a result of enhanced phantom limb perception. SIGNIFICANCE: This work demonstrates that phantom limb perception influences prosthesis control and can benefit from targeted nerve stimulation. These findings have implications for improving prosthesis usability and function due to a heightened sense of the phantom hand.
Authors: Zied Tayeb; Nicolai Waniek; Juri Fedjaev; Nejla Ghaboosi; Leonard Rychly; Christian Widderich; Christoph Richter; Jonas Braun; Matteo Saveriano; Gordon Cheng; Jörg Conradt Journal: J Neural Eng Date: 2018-09-14 Impact factor: 5.379
Authors: Jacqueline S Hebert; Jaret L Olson; Michael J Morhart; Michael R Dawson; Paul D Marasco; Todd A Kuiken; K Ming Chan Journal: IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng Date: 2013-12-18 Impact factor: 3.802
Authors: Emily L Graczyk; Matthew A Schiefer; Hannes P Saal; Benoit P Delhaye; Sliman J Bensmaia; Dustin J Tyler Journal: Sci Transl Med Date: 2016-10-26 Impact factor: 17.956
Authors: Luke Osborn; Matthew Fifer; Courtney Moran; Joseph Betthauser; Robert Armiger; Rahul Kaliki; Nitish Thakor Journal: IEEE Biomed Circuits Syst Conf Date: 2018-03-29
Authors: Luke E Osborn; Andrei Dragomir; Joseph L Betthauser; Christopher L Hunt; Harrison H Nguyen; Rahul R Kaliki; Nitish V Thakor Journal: Sci Robot Date: 2018-06-20