The Development of Body-Powered Prosthetic Hand Controlled by EMG Signals Using DSP Processor with Virtual Prosthesis Implementation

The state of the art in the technology of prosthetic hands is moving rapidly forward. However, there are only two types of prosthetic hands available in Libya: the Passive Hand and the Mechanical Hand. It is very important, therefore, to develop the prosthesis existing in Libya so that the use of the prosthesis is as practical as possible. Considering the case of amputation below the elbow, with two movements: opening and closing the hand, this work discusses two stages: developing the operation of the body-powered prosthetic hand by controlling it via the surface electromyography signal (sEMG) through dsPIC30f4013 processor and a servo motor and a software based on fuzzy logic concept to detect and process the EMG signal of the patient as well as using it to train the patient how to control the movements without having to fit the prosthetic arm. The proposed system has been practically implemented, tested, and gave satisfied results, especially that the used processor provides fast processing with high performance compared to other types of microcontrollers.