Design of EMG-driven Musculoskeletal Model for Volitional Control of a Robotic Ankle Prosthesis

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel EMG-driven musculoskeletal model enabling volitional control of a robotic ankle prosthesis, allowing users to manipulate the device during daily activities, with validation through simulations and real-time tests.

Contribution

It presents a new EMG-based control approach using a Hill-type muscle model for more natural prosthesis operation during non-cyclic activities.

Findings

Model accurately predicts muscle activation from EMG signals.

Real-time control demonstrated effective prosthesis manipulation.

Feasibility shown for assisting functional tasks.

Abstract

Existing robotic lower-limb prostheses use autonomous control to address cyclic, locomotive tasks, but they are inadequate to operate the prosthesis for daily activities that are non-cyclic and unpredictable. To address this challenge, this study aims to design a novel electromyography (EMG)-driven musculoskeletal model for volitional control of a robotic ankle-foot prosthesis. This controller places the user in continuous control of the device, allowing them to freely manipulate the prosthesis behavior at will. The Hill-type muscle model was used to model a dorsiflexor and a plantarflexor, which functioned around a virtual ankle joint. The model parameters were determined by fitting the model prediction to the experimental data collected from an able-bodied subject. EMG signals recorded from ankle agonist and antagonist muscle pair were used to activate the virtual muscle models. This model was validated via offline simulations and real-time prosthesis control. Additionally, the feasibility of the proposed prosthesis control on assisting the user's functional tasks was demonstrated. The present control may further improve the function of robotic prosthesis for supporting versatile activities in individuals with lower-limb amputations.