WAY
Wearable interfaces for hAnd function recoverY
Project Lifetime
European Commission, under the 7th Framework Programme (grant agreement no. FP7-ICT-288551)
WAY addresses the scientific problem of recovery hand function after amputation or neurological accidents like spinal cord injury, brachial plexus injury, and stroke. It introduces several conceptual novelties which explicitly take into account and overcome the limited band-width in actual Brain-Neural Communication Interfaces (BNCI). WAY demonstrators are able to restore a physiological bidirectional link between artificial aids and patients, and will be shown in clinical studies to improve the ability of users to perform activities of daily living (ADL) and thus to attain enhanced autonomy and quality of life. In other words, the project investigates new WAYs to link the brain with upper limb aids.
This result can be obtained by employing already available sensorized hand assistive devices within the consortium — i.e., a dexterous prosthesis and an exoskeleton — and by developing non-invasive wearable interfaces designed for bidirectional data flow of sensory information and motor commands. WAY bridges several currently disjointed scientific fields and is therefore critically dependent on the collaboration of engineers, neuroscientists and clinicians.
We are the project coordinator and the responsible partner for the development of the prosthetic hand and of the hand exoskeleton.
Umeå Universitet, Umeå, Sweden - Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany - Guttmann Institut, Barcelona, Spain - Ossur hf., Reykjavik, Iceland
Y. Hao, M. Controzzi, C. Cipriani, D. B. Popović, X. Yang, W. Chen, X. Zheng, and M. C. Carrozza, “Controlling Hand-Assistive Devices: Utilizing Electrooculography as a Substitute for Vision,” IEEE Robotics and Automation Magazine, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 40-52, 2013.
C. Antfolk, M. D’Alonzo, M. Controzzi, G. Lundborg, B. Rosén, F. Sebelius, C. Cipriani, “Artificial redirection of sensation from prosthetic fingers to the phantom hand map on transradial amputees: vibrotactile versus mechanotactile sensory feedback discrimination,” IEEE Trans. on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering, vol. 21, no. 1, pp. 112-120, 2013.
C. Antfolk, M. D’Alonzo, B. Rosén, G. Lundborg, F. Sebelius, C. Cipriani, “Sensory feedback in upper limb prosthetics,” Expert Review of Medical Devices, In press, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 45-54, 2013.
M. D’Alonzo and C. Cipriani, “Vibrotactile sensory substitution elicits feeling of ownership of an alien hand,” PLOS ONE, Vol. 7, no. 11, pp. 1-9, 2012.
T. Lenzi, S.M.M. De Rossi, N.Vitiello, M.C. Carrozza, "Intention-based EMG Control for Powered Exoskeleton", IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, Issue 99, 2012.
C. Cipriani, M. Controzzi, G. Kanitz, R. Sassu, "The Effects of Weight and Inertia of the Prosthesis on the Sensitivity of Electromyographic Pattern Recognition in Relax State," Journal of Prosthetics & Orthotics, Vo. 24, no. 2, pp. 86-92, 2012.