Electromyography-Based Control of Lower Limb Prostheses: A Systematic Review
Journal article, 2023
Most amputations occur in lower limbs and despite improvements in prosthetic technology, no commercially available prosthetic leg uses electromyography (EMG) information as an input for control. Efforts to integrate EMG signals as part of the control strategy have increased in the last decade. In this systematic review, we summarize the research in the field of lower limb prosthetic control using EMG. Four different online databases were searched until June 2022: Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, and Science Direct. We included articles that reported systems for controlling a prosthetic leg (with an ankle and/or knee actuator) by decoding gait intent using EMG signals alone or in combination with other sensors. A total of 1,331 papers were initially assessed and 121 were finally included in this systematic review. The literature showed that despite the burgeoning interest in research, controlling a leg prosthesis using EMG signals remains challenging. Specifically, regarding EMG signal quality and stability, electrode placement, prosthetic hardware, and control algorithms, all of which need to be more robust for everyday use. In the studies that were investigated, large variations were found between the control methodologies, type of research participant, recording protocols, assessments, and prosthetic hardware.
Electromyography (EMG)
pattern recognition
control architecture
lower limb amputation
movement intention recognition
control algorithms
Author
Bahareh Ahkami
Center for Bionics and Pain Research
Chalmers University of Technology
Chalmers, Electrical Engineering, Systems and control
Kirstin Ahmed
Center for Bionics and Pain Research
Chalmers, Electrical Engineering, Systems and control
Alexander Thesleff
Center for Bionics and Pain Research
Integrum AB
Chalmers, Electrical Engineering, Signal Processing and Biomedical Engineering
Levi Hargrove
Northwestern University
Shirley Ryan AbilityLab
Max Jair Ortiz Catalan
Chalmers, Electrical Engineering, Systems and control
Bionics Institute
Center for Bionics and Pain Research
Sahlgrenska University Hospital
IEEE Transactions on Medical Robotics and Bionics
25763202 (eISSN)
Vol. 5 3 547-562Subject Categories (SSIF 2011)
Other Medical Biotechnology
DOI
10.1109/TMRB.2023.3282325