Development of low-cost myoelectric prosthetic hand with force feedback

Transradial amputations, also known as below-elbow amputations, can occur for various reasons, including trauma, congenital limb deficiencies, vascular disease, or complications from other medical conditions such as cancer or infections. A prosthetic hand with advanced technologies can improve the quality of life for transradial amputees. This study presents the development of a 3-D printed myoelectric prosthetic hand with a proportional control scheme and force feedback. EMG signal was used to actuate the prosthetic hand according to the user’s intention, and the grasping force applied to an object was used as a feedback signal, taken from a force-sensitive resistor (FSR) placed on the thumb’s tip. The result shows that the developed hand system has the capability to hold an object for a long time without any extra muscular effort, has an accuracy of $\mathbf{9 8 \%}$, and is a low-cost, less complex feedback system. Furthermore, the hand was successfully trialed on five subjects for better grasping of different objects.