Page 224 - Control Theory in Biomedical Engineering

CHAPTER 8

Wearable mechatronic devices

for upper-limb amputees

a,b
a,b
Juan J. Huaroto , Etsel Suárez , Emir A. Vela c
a
Department of Engineering, Faculty of Science and Philosophy, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia,
Lima, Peru
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Universidad Nacional de Ingenieria, Lima, Peru
c
Department of Energy and Mechanical Engineering, Universidad de Ingenieria y Tecnologia-UTEC,
Barranco, Peru
1 Introduction
The first upper-limb prosthetic device was reported in early AD. This is evi-
dence that humans strived to design and provide wearable prosthetic devices
to replace lost body limbs, whether they be upper or lower limbs. When a
person loses a limb many issues occur, from physical disability to psycholog-
ical problems such as loss of self-confidence and even depression
(Kristjansdottir et al., 2019; Roche et al., 2019). Physical disability in ampu-
tees causes serious difficulties in realizing activities of daily life, entering the
labor market, and simply leading normal lives, especially in developing
countries (Resnik et al., 2019; Daniels et al., 2019). It is in this context that
prosthetic devices appeared. At the beginning, upper-limb prostheses were
purely mechanical devices with very limited use for grasping objects, or
designed solely for aesthetics. With the advance of technology, they began
to evolve increasing their range of tasks, degrees of freedom (DOFs), and
interactions with the user (Huaroto et al., 2018; Marasco et al., 2018;
Castellini, 2020; Motti, 2020).
As first reported, wearable devices (WDs) started off as purely mechanical
systems. However, with the creation of electrical and electronic compo-
nents, WDs are now mostly known as purely electronic devices. Current
WDs are composed of a set of sensors for acquiring and measuring body
information and signals for health monitoring and diagnosis (Motti,
2020). There are also many WDs that are composed of both actuators
and sensors for augmenting human capacities, rehabilitation, providing assis-
tance, and replacing body limbs lost due to amputation or congenital
diseases. These are referred as mechatronic and robotic WDs (Pons, 2008;
Resnik et al., 2012). Examples include robotic exoskeletons that a user wears

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