Compensation Effect Amplification Control (CEAC): A movement-based approach for coordinated position and velocity control of the elbow of upper-limb prostheses

TL;DR

The paper introduces CEAC, a movement-based control method that uses trunk movements to intuitively control prosthetic elbow velocity, improving coordination and effort distribution in upper-limb prostheses.

Contribution

CEAC is a novel control paradigm that amplifies trunk-prosthesis coupling with a controlled delay, enabling intuitive and coordinated elbow control in prosthetic devices.

Findings

CEAC achieves natural-like movement performance in drawing and reaching tasks.

Participants maintained ergonomic trunk postures while controlling prosthetic elbow.

CEAC effectively restores joint coordination and effort distribution.

Abstract

Despite advances in upper-limb (UL) prosthetic design, achieving intuitive control of intermediate joints - such as the wrist and elbow - remains challenging, particularly for continuous and velocity-modulated movements. We introduce a novel movement-based control paradigm entitled Compensation Effect Amplification Control (CEAC) that leverages users' trunk flexion and extension as input for controlling prosthetic elbow velocity. Considering that the trunk can be both a functional and compensatory joint when performing upper-limb actions, CEAC amplifies the natural coupling between trunk and prosthesis while introducing a controlled delay that allows users to modulate both the position and velocity of the prosthetic joint. We evaluated CEAC in a generic drawing task performed by twelve able-bodied participants using a supernumerary prosthesis with an active elbow. Additionally a multiple-target-reaching task was performed by a subset of ten participants. Results demonstrate task performances comparable to those obtained with natural arm movements, even when gesture velocity or drawing size were varied, while maintaining ergonomic trunk postures. Analysis revealed that CEAC effectively restores joint coordinated action, distributes movement effort between trunk and elbow, enabling intuitive trajectory control without requiring extreme compensatory movements. Overall, CEAC offers a promising control strategy for intermediate joints of UL prostheses, particularly in tasks requiring continuous and precise coordination.