Facilitating the selection of a myoelectric prosthesis using Virtual Reality for upper limb amputee patients

Myoelectric upper limb prostheses aim to allow an amputee to accomplish everydaytasks again. Over the years, with the development of new technology, the number ofprostheses available on the market has increased, so the choice of the most appropri-ate model is a difficult decision for an upper limb amputee (ULA) patient. Without the possibility of testing the different devices, it is really difficult for the patient toknow which one is best adapted to their needs.This study aims to develop a tool that facilitates this selection. The solution de-veloped gives the patient an opportunity to be immersed in an environment, using Virtual Reality (VR), where different prostheses can be tested. The environmentwas built with Unity software. Thanks to two electrodes placed on their forearm, the subject can virtually control the prostheses. Three commercially available myoelectric prostheses were implemented in this prototype.A qualitative pilot study was conducted to test the prototype. This experiment involved five healthy subjects. The purpose was to compare the participants’ opinionof each myoelectric prosthesis before and after testing it virtually in our VR envi-ronment using a computer based questionnaire. From that experiment, it can be observed that the VR environment developed had an effect on the subjects’ opinionof each prosthesis. While this is a promising proof of concept, our virtual tool willneed further iteration and development, as well as a larger pool of participants anda wider experimental scope.