POWERED, MULTI-FUNCTIONAL LIMB MOVEMENT AUXILIARY DEVICE, PARTICULARLY PROSTHESIS AND MOVEMENT-ASSISTING ORTHOSIS, WITH COMBINED ESTIMATION REGIMES
First Claim
1. A multi-functional limb movement auxiliary device, comprisinga base member,a socket member that is configured to at least partially receive a portion or remaining portion of a limb,a plurality of limb movement auxiliary device members, each limb movement auxiliary device member being connected in an articulated way to at least one out of the base member or a different limb movement auxiliary device member,a plurality of actuators that are connectable to an electric power source, wherein each actuator is configured to move, upon activation, at least one limb movement auxiliary device member out of the plurality of limb movement auxiliary device members in an articulated way, and wherein the plurality of actuators is configured to enable articulated movements of limb movement auxiliary device members in at least two independent degrees of freedom,a bio-signal sensing unit that is configured to acquire bio-signals indicative of motor activity from the portion or remaining portion of the limb,a control unit, including at least one processor unit and at least one digital data memory unit to which the at least one processor unit has data access, that is configured toreceive and evaluate the acquired bio-signals, with regard to estimating an intended movement, by carrying out a method comprising at least steps ofdigitally converting the acquired bio-signals,applying a novelty detection method for comparing the digitally converted, acquired bio-signals with data that reside in the at least one digitaldata memory unit and that represent bio-signals in response to a set of movements, and, based on a result of the comparison,for assigning a similarity measure to the digitally converted, acquired bio-signals,applying at least one sequential estimator (SEQ-E) to the digitally converted bio-signals, if the assigned similarity measure is equal to or larger than a pre-determined threshold value,applying at least one simultaneous estimator (SIM-E) to the digitally converted bio-signals, if the assigned similarity measure is less than the pre-determined threshold value,and is further configured to activate at least one actuator out of the plurality of actuators, based on a result of applying the at least one sequential estimator (SEQ-E) or the at least one simultaneous estimator (SIM-E) to the digitally converted bio-signals.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method of operating a multi-functional limb movement auxiliary device comprising a plurality of actuators configured to move, upon activation, limb movement auxiliary device members in at least two independent degrees of freedom, a bio-signal sensing unit that is configured to acquire bio-signals indicative of motor activity, a control unit configured to receive and evaluate the acquired bio-signals, the method comprising steps of
- acquiring bio-signals from the user of the limb movement auxiliary device,
- applying a novelty detection method (ND) for comparing digitally converted, acquired bio-signals with calibration bio-signals, and, based on a result of the comparison, for assigning a similarity measure to the acquired, digitally converted bio-signals,
- applying at least one sequential estimator (SEQ-E) to the acquired, digitally converted bio-signals, if the assigned similarity measure is equal to or larger than a pre-determined threshold value,
- applying at least one simultaneous estimator (SIM-E) to the acquired, digitally converted bio-signals, if the assigned similarity measure is less than the pre-determined threshold value, and
- activating at least one actuator out of the plurality of actuators, based on a result of applying one of the estimators (SIM-E, SEQ-E) to the acquired, digitally converted bio-signals; and
a multi-functional limb movement auxiliary device including a control unit configured for carrying out such method.
7 Citations
11 Claims
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1. A multi-functional limb movement auxiliary device, comprising
a base member, a socket member that is configured to at least partially receive a portion or remaining portion of a limb, a plurality of limb movement auxiliary device members, each limb movement auxiliary device member being connected in an articulated way to at least one out of the base member or a different limb movement auxiliary device member, a plurality of actuators that are connectable to an electric power source, wherein each actuator is configured to move, upon activation, at least one limb movement auxiliary device member out of the plurality of limb movement auxiliary device members in an articulated way, and wherein the plurality of actuators is configured to enable articulated movements of limb movement auxiliary device members in at least two independent degrees of freedom, a bio-signal sensing unit that is configured to acquire bio-signals indicative of motor activity from the portion or remaining portion of the limb, a control unit, including at least one processor unit and at least one digital data memory unit to which the at least one processor unit has data access, that is configured to receive and evaluate the acquired bio-signals, with regard to estimating an intended movement, by carrying out a method comprising at least steps of digitally converting the acquired bio-signals, applying a novelty detection method for comparing the digitally converted, acquired bio-signals with data that reside in the at least one digital data memory unit and that represent bio-signals in response to a set of movements, and, based on a result of the comparison, for assigning a similarity measure to the digitally converted, acquired bio-signals, applying at least one sequential estimator (SEQ-E) to the digitally converted bio-signals, if the assigned similarity measure is equal to or larger than a pre-determined threshold value, applying at least one simultaneous estimator (SIM-E) to the digitally converted bio-signals, if the assigned similarity measure is less than the pre-determined threshold value, and is further configured to activate at least one actuator out of the plurality of actuators, based on a result of applying the at least one sequential estimator (SEQ-E) or the at least one simultaneous estimator (SIM-E) to the digitally converted bio-signals.
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8. A method of operating a multi-functional limb movement auxiliary device, the limb movement auxiliary device comprising
a base member, a socket member that is configured to at least partially receive a portion or remaining portion of a limb, a plurality of limb movement auxiliary device members, each limb movement auxiliary device member being connected in an articulated way to at least one out of the base member or a different limb movement auxiliary device member, a plurality of actuators that are connectable to an electric power source, wherein each actuator is configured to move, upon activation, at least one limb movement auxiliary device member out of the plurality of limb movement auxiliary device members in an articulated way, and wherein the plurality of actuators is configured to enable articulated movements of limb movement auxiliary device members in at least two independent degrees of freedom, a bio-signal sensing unit that is configured to acquire bio-signals indicative of motor activity from the portion or remaining portion of the limb, and a control unit, including at least one processor unit and at least one digital data memory unit to which the at least one processor unit has data access, the method comprising steps of acquiring bio-signals from the user of the limb movement auxiliary device, digitally converting the acquired bio-signals, applying a novelty detection method (ND) for comparing the acquired, digitally converted bio-signals with calibration bio-signals that reside in the at least one digital data memory unit, based on a result of the comparison, assigning a similarity measure to the acquired, digitally converted bio-signals, applying at least one sequential estimator (SEQ-E) to the acquired, digitally converted bio-signals, if the assigned similarity measure is equal to or larger than a pre-determined threshold value, applying at least one simultaneous estimator (SIM-E) to the acquired, digitally converted bio-signals, if the assigned similarity measure is smaller than the pre-determined threshold value, and activating at least one actuator out of the plurality of actuators, based on a result of the step of applying the at least one sequential estimator (SEQ-E) or of applying the at least one simultaneous estimator (SIM-E) to the acquired, digitally converted bio-signals.
Specification