For the study, two participants with transradial amputations had RPNIs created by suturing skeletal muscle grafts to peripheral nerves or nerve fascicles in the residual limb. Intramuscular EMG (iEMG) electrodes were implanted into the RPNIs and muscles in the residual limb.
After the surgery, the participants’ functional performance was assessed in several ways, including through a multiple degrees-of-freedom control test called the Coffee Task (putting a cup and a coffee pod into a coffee machine, pushing the start button, moving the filled cup to a table, and opening a sugar packet and pouring it into the cup). Other tests involved controlling a virtual hand and wrist in real time by mimicking various on-screen grips, and a posture classification experiment, in which the subjects controlled hand or wrist movements of a virtual hand while sitting and standing. In each test, the participants achieved faster, more accurate and more reliable control using the implanted electrodes than the surface electrodes.
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