Rupp Rüdiger, Kreilinger Alex, Rohm Martin, Kaiser Vera, Müller-Putz Gernot R
Spinal Cord Injury center, Heidelberg university hospital, 69118 Heidelberg, Germany.
Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2012;2012:1835-8. doi: 10.1109/EMBC.2012.6346308.
Over the last decade the improvement of a missing hand function by application of neuroprostheses in particular the implantable Freehand system has been successfully shown in high spinal cord injured individuals. The clinically proven advantages of the Freehand system is its ease of use, the reproducible generation of two distinct functional grasp patterns and an analog control scheme based on movements of the contralateral shoulder. However, after the Freehand system is not commercially available for more than ten years, alternative grasp neuroprosthesis with a comparable functionality are still missing. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop a non-invasive neuroprosthesis and to show that a degree of functional restoration can be provided to end users comparable to implanted devices. By introduction of an easy to handle forearm electrode sleeve the reproducible generation of two grasp patterns has been achieved. Generated grasp forces of the palmar grasp are in the range of the implanted system. Though pinch force of the lateral grasp is significantly lower, it can effectively used by a tetraplegic subject to perform functional tasks. The non-invasive grasp neuroprosthesis developed in this work may serve as an easy to apply and inexpensive way to restore a missing hand and finger function at any time after spinal cord injury.
在过去十年中，通过应用神经假体，特别是可植入的Freehand系统，已成功证明在高位脊髓损伤患者中可改善缺失的手部功能。Freehand系统经临床验证的优点包括使用方便、可重复生成两种不同的功能性抓握模式以及基于对侧肩部运动的模拟控制方案。然而，在Freehand系统已停止商业销售十多年后，仍缺少具有类似功能的替代性抓握神经假体。因此，本研究的目的是开发一种非侵入性神经假体，并证明可以为最终用户提供与植入设备相当的功能恢复程度。通过引入易于操作的前臂电极套，已实现可重复生成两种抓握模式。掌侧抓握产生的抓握力与植入系统的范围相当。虽然侧方抓握的捏力明显较低，但四肢瘫痪患者可以有效地利用它来执行功能任务。本研究中开发的非侵入性抓握神经假体可作为一种易于应用且廉价的方法，在脊髓损伤后的任何时候恢复缺失的手部和手指功能。
