L.R. Lommerse
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Active hand prostheses aid people, who suffer from an upper limb deficiency, in performing activities of daily living. The two types of active hand prostheses available are the myo-electric prosthesis and body-powered prosthesis. Even though both allow a user to grasp objects, the downsides are major. The high actuation force required for the operation of body-powered prostheses and the high costs and low feedback of the myo-electric prostheses lead to high abandon rates. A hybrid solution could combine the best of both worlds: high output force and transparent feedback. In this study we introduce a body-powered prosthetic hand with force assist, that allows for user operation without muscle fatigue, while still providing the user with transparent feedback. Design requirements are set up following parameters from literature. For this study the outer shell and closing mechanism of the 100-Dollar Hand have been used and adapted to purpose. An extensive mechanical analyses, a new conceptual design and the addition of a micro controller led to the new closing mechanism of the Hybrid Hand. The proposed prototype has been tested on a test bench and results have been compared to the conventional body-powered 100-Dollar Hand. The Hybrid Hand decreases the actuation forces needed for a pinch force of 15 N with 33% in comparison to the 100-Dollar Hand. Moreover, the system increases the output pinch force at 80 N actuation force with almost 80%. With a weight of 320 gram and costs of under 200 dollar, the hand can amplify the pinch force with a maximum of 29 N. However, due to the low efficiency of the worm gear, the opening time of the hand (3.5 s) has to be improved. This paper presents the first 3D printed hand prosthesis with force assist that allows for user operation without muscle fatigue. With a low weight, low cost, high pinch force the prosthesis is accessible to and could aid people with an upper limb deficiency all over the world. Future research should further investigate the durability of the system and should introduce ways to improve and optimize the efficiency of the transmission of the system. ...
Active hand prostheses aid people, who suffer from an upper limb deficiency, in performing activities of daily living. The two types of active hand prostheses available are the myo-electric prosthesis and body-powered prosthesis. Even though both allow a user to grasp objects, the downsides are major. The high actuation force required for the operation of body-powered prostheses and the high costs and low feedback of the myo-electric prostheses lead to high abandon rates. A hybrid solution could combine the best of both worlds: high output force and transparent feedback. In this study we introduce a body-powered prosthetic hand with force assist, that allows for user operation without muscle fatigue, while still providing the user with transparent feedback. Design requirements are set up following parameters from literature. For this study the outer shell and closing mechanism of the 100-Dollar Hand have been used and adapted to purpose. An extensive mechanical analyses, a new conceptual design and the addition of a micro controller led to the new closing mechanism of the Hybrid Hand. The proposed prototype has been tested on a test bench and results have been compared to the conventional body-powered 100-Dollar Hand. The Hybrid Hand decreases the actuation forces needed for a pinch force of 15 N with 33% in comparison to the 100-Dollar Hand. Moreover, the system increases the output pinch force at 80 N actuation force with almost 80%. With a weight of 320 gram and costs of under 200 dollar, the hand can amplify the pinch force with a maximum of 29 N. However, due to the low efficiency of the worm gear, the opening time of the hand (3.5 s) has to be improved. This paper presents the first 3D printed hand prosthesis with force assist that allows for user operation without muscle fatigue. With a low weight, low cost, high pinch force the prosthesis is accessible to and could aid people with an upper limb deficiency all over the world. Future research should further investigate the durability of the system and should introduce ways to improve and optimize the efficiency of the transmission of the system.