Developing a Quasi-Static Controller for a Paralyzed Human Arm: A Simulation Study

Document Type

Conference Paper

Publication Date

7-29-2019

Publication Title

2019 IEEE 16th International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics (ICORR)

Abstract

Individuals with paralyzed limbs due to spinal cord injuries lack the ability to perform the reaching motions necessary to every day life. Functional electrical stimulation (FES) is a promising technology for restoring reaching movements to these individuals by reanimating their paralyzed muscles. We have proposed using a quasi-static model-based control strategy to achieve reaching controlled by FES. This method uses a series of static positions to connect the starting wrist position to the goal. As a first step to implementing this controller, we have completed a simulated study using a MATLAB based dynamic model of the arm in order to determine the suitable parameters for the quasi-static controller. The selected distance between static positions in the path was 6 cm, and the amount of time between switching target positions was 1.3 s. The final controller can complete reaches of over 30 cm with a median accuracy of 6.8 cm.

Comments

Paper presented at the 16th International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics (ICORR), held June 24-28, 2019 in Toronto, Canada

DOI

10.1109/ICORR.2019.8779381

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