Externally Powered Upper Limb Prostheses

In this paper, a prototype of an externally-powered electrically controlled hand prosthesis has been developed. The mechanical structure of the prosthesis has been designed and fabricated. The control system of such prosthesis has also been developed. The control system requires accurate information on the prostheses structure and the surrounding environment. Experimental analysis is performed to understand the effects of input parameters and to obtain suitable design parameters for optimized design of the electrical circuit and function of the control system of the hand prosthesis. The developed hand mechanism is capable of gripping hard objects. The opening and closing of prosthesis has been regulated by the application of the external pressure.