Earable Ω (OMEGA): A Novel Clenching Interface Using Ear Canal Sensing for Human Metacarpophalangeal Joint Control by Functional Electrical Stimulation

Overview

Journal Sensors (Basel)

Publisher MDPI

Specialty Biotechnology

Date 2022 Oct 14

PMID 36236510

Authors

Kazuhiro Matsui

Yuya Suzuki

Keita Atsuumi

Miwa Nagai

Shotaro Ohno

Hiroaki Hirai

Atsushi Nishikawa

Kazuhiro Taniguchi

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

(1) Background: A mouth-free interface is required for functional electrical stimulation (FES) in people with spinal cord injuries. We developed a novel system for clenching the human metacarpophalangeal (MP) joint using an earphone-type ear canal movement sensor. Experiments to control joint angle and joint stiffness were performed using the developed system. (2) Methods: The proposed FES used an equilibrium point control signal and stiffness control signal: electrical agonist-antagonist ratio and electrical agonist-antagonist sum. An angle sensor was used to acquire the joint angle, and system identification was utilized to measure joint stiffness using the external force of a robot arm. Each experiment included six and five subjects, respectively. (3) Results: While the joint angle could be controlled well by clenching with some hysteresis and delay in three subjects, it could not be controlled relatively well after hyperextension in the other subjects, which revealed a calibration problem and a change in the characteristics of the human MP joint caused by hyperextension. The joint stiffness increased with the clenching amplitude in five subjects. In addition, the results indicated that viscosity can be controlled. (4) Conclusions: The developed system can control joint angle and stiffness. In future research, we will develop a method to show that this system can control the equilibrium point and stiffness simultaneously.

Citing Articles

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Ando T, Matsui K, Okamoto Y, Atsuumi K, Taniguchi K, Hirai H Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2024; 12:1421765.

PMID: 39465003 PMC: 11503014. DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2024.1421765.

Pilot study of the relation between various dynamics of avatar experience and perceptual characteristics.

Okamoto Y, Matsui K, Ando T, Atsuumi K, Taniguchi K, Hirai H PeerJ Comput Sci. 2024; 10:e2042.

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