AROUND HALF
OF UPPER LIMB AMPUTEES ABANDON, OR CHOOSE NOT TO USE A PROSTHETIC
WEIGHT, DISCOMFORT, & LACK OF DEXTERITY
ARE SOME REASONS WHY
BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, IT'S THE LACK OF
SENSORY FEEDBACK
MYOELECTRIC PROSTHETICS
ARE DIRECTED BY ELECTRICAL SIGNALS GENERATED FROM
MUSCLE CONTRACTIONS
IN THE RESIDUAL LIMB, WHICH CAN THEN BE TRANSLATED TO MOTION
THE DRAWBACK IS THAT THE ELECTRODES REQUIRE A
DIRECT CONNECTION
WITH AN ASSIGNED CONTACT POINT TO DO THIS, AS SOME AREAS OF THE MUSCLE PRODUCE STRONGER SIGNALS THAN OTHERS
HOWEVER, THE HEAVY COMPONENTS OF THE PROSTHETIC CAUSE
EXCESSIVE SWEATING
AND THE ELECTRODE MOVES FROM ITS CONTACT POINT
THIS IS KNOWN AS
MOTION ARTEFACTS
WHICH LEAD TO UNPREDICTABLE MOVEMENTS FROM THE PROSTHESIS IN RESPONSE TO MUSCLE CONTRACTIONS
OVERRELIANCE
ON DIRECT CONTACT IS ONE OF THE MAIN PROBLEMS CAUSING MOTION ARTEFACTS
E.LECTRODE AIMS TO REMEDIATE THIS BY ENGINEERING
SKIN-SPECIFIC NANOWIRES
THAT CAN MAINTAIN ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE ELECTRODE AND THE CONTACT POINT IN THE EVENT OF MOVEMENT
WE WILL DO THIS BY ENGINEERING A MONOMER IN THE ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE PILI OF
GEOBACTER SULFURREDUCENS
TO CONTAIN
SKIN PROTEIN-BINDING PEPTIDE TAGS
ON ITS CARBOXYL END, FORMING A COMPLEX THAT BEHAVES SIMILARLY TO A NANOWIRE
THESE NANOWIRES WILL BE ABLE TO SPECIFICALLY TARGET AND BIND PROTEINS AT THE
SKIN SURFACE
AND MAINTAIN A STABLE SIGNAL CONNECTION
HOPES TO BE IMPLEMENTED IN MYOELECTRIC PROSTHETICS AND OTHER WEARABLE ELECTRONICS TO MITIGATE MOTION ARTEFACTS