Techniques and Control Systems in Upper-Limb Bionic Prostheses: A Technological Review

Abstract

Disability is defined as a physical or mental condition that affects the interaction between individuals and their environment. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 15% of the world's population suffers at least one type of disability and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) states that around 85 million people suffer a disability in Latin America. Bionic prosthesis are artificial limbs worn by people who lost a limb either through amputation of because of a congenic disease. Limb loss directly harms the patient's performance of daily chores or its work efficiency, so the prosthetics help the patient to maintain a high independency degree. In this recent review, several upper limb prosthetics are analyzed in different categories that are important requirements for the design and manufacture of new bionic prosthetics such as reference, the biosignal used for the study of the prosthesis, such as EMG or EEG, control methods like PID or PD, the control parameters, as Force (F) or Position (P) the sensors placed in the machine, e.g. Myoelectric Sensor, the actuators used, such as the DC Motors, amputation level, that could be Wrist Disarticulation (WD), and the Technological Readiness Level (TRL), which is a NASA progress measurement scale for research projects.