Trajectory Control for 3 Degree-of-Freedom Wrist Prosthesis in Virtual Reality: A Pilot Study

Controlling a complex upper limb prosthesis, akin to a healthy arm, is still an open challenge due to the inadequate number of inputs available to amputees. Designs have therefore largely focused on a limited number of controllable degrees of freedom, developing a complex hand and grasp functionality rather than the wrist. We introduce a novel 3 degree of freedom wrist trajectory control which takes advantage of joint coordination that aims to vastly simplify its use in a prosthetic device. We demonstrate its efficacy through a series of tasks performed by participants in a virtual environment. Trajectory control enables users to complete tasks faster with a more intuitive interface without additional body compensation, while featuring better cosmesis when compared to sequential and simultaneous control.