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Prosthetic Hand (from wrist up) Nerve or muscle based
Im thinking on building a hand that would read how either a nerve is being powered or a muscle is contracted and using proportions between pre set muscle/nerve groups to trigger different hand actions (ie nerve group 1 is has a certian voltage running though it while group 3 has 50% of that voltage, comparing to readings from pre-amputations that would mean finger A would move to a certain position) however I'm wondering if I should go with wrist-muscle based readings or try to interface with the nerves, the following pros and cons are present
MUSCLE BASED
PROS
- Easy to set up
- no surgery required
- Can be taken off in the event an MRI machine/X-Ray scanner (hospital or airport) need to be used
CONS
- May be harder to read muscles accurately pre-installation
- external power source required
- Damage to reading equipment possible via external forces
NERVE BASED
PROS
-No external power source
- readings easy to find and recalibrate
- less materials required (as far as I know, designs are quite basic at the moment)
- reading equipment is not as exposed as an external design that the muscle based readings would use
CONS
- Implantation surgery required (nerve damage possible)
- damage to wiring possible unless made of materials like titanium or lined in home grown stem cells (using my own DNA)
to
1. Hide apparatus from immune system
2. Protect from natural degradation due to exposure to other bodily fluids and required chemicals (such as sodium)
- Can't be taken off in the event an MRI machine/X-Ray scanner (hospital or airport) need to be used (MRI doesn't matter as long as no implanted apparatus can be magnetised or has magnetic properties)
Obviously testing the hand before its used will be required but I don't want to opt for the nerve based design and halfway through testing find out its impossible
I have some future project designs that do require interfacing with nerves (such as some cameras attached to the optical nerve so some experience in interfacing with nerves would be a good idea
Comments
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This looks really a cool project. BTW for what I understood you are trying to create is a machine to read muscle and use those readings to move a machine hand?
I do believe something similar is to ctrl-labs BCI-armband : https://www.theverge.com/2018/6/6/17433516/ctrl-labs-brain-computer-interface-armband-hands-on-preview
I'm not sure about how you are planning this reader, but if you dump same planning I can help out, I have seen multiple project similar to this the VR startup scene.
For the nerve as mush I find it SUPER interesting, without a good operating room and a skilled surgeon I strongly suggest to go for the muscle one.
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Please consider presence of damage wherever there are rigid pieces in tissue, please see the link attached for a silicon and flexi gold model already made.
Also consider a removable prosthetic would be much easier maintenance and could also use Bluetooth communication with chips implanted in motor nerves in your arms. This has already been done and is the most likely long term viable option.
