Prosthetic limbs: from mechanical design to closed-loop control

Limb amputation is a traumatic event that can drastically reduce patients' quality of life since it induces the interruption of the bidirectional communication between the missing limb and the central nervous system. The presence of a limb loss can induce the onset of several sensorimotor disabilities that hinder the patients during simple Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) execution. Therefore, patients with upper limb amputation can encounter difficulties in stabilizing grasp and performing manipulation tasks; meanwhile, lower limb amputees have to face off with deambulation disorders. This leads to a low prosthesis embodiment, an increase of metabolic and cognitive effort during their use and subsequently a high abandoning rate (i.e., 39% and 60% for upper and lower limb prosthesis, respectively). Notwithstanding the huge improvements in the development of advanced prosthetic limbs, several issues remain open regarding both the mechanical design and the interfacing with the peripheral nervous system. A pivotal consideration involves the comprehensive rethinking of prosthetic systems, integrating robotic and AI-based solutions. This includes the development of: i) prosthesis architectures and stump interfaces capable of ensuring anthropomorphic, lightweight, and comfortable configurations; ii) AI-driven interfaces with the efferent pathway to accurately decode the user's motion intentions, enabling more natural and intuitive control; iii) sensory feedback restoration strategies capable of providing rich and reliable information to the use: iv) intelligent control algorithms to enhance the stability, adaptability, and overall reliability of the prosthetic devices during daily use. This workshop aims at presenting the current issues and at envisioning the upcoming breakthroughs in upper and lower limb prosthetic devices. The workshop will discuss the state-of-the-art of prosthesis mechanical design, closed loop control strategies and will point out current challenges and opportunities in the field of bionics. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following: • Mechanical design of prosthetic limbs • High- and low-level prosthesis control • Invasive and non-invasive interfaces • Closed loop limb prostheses • Somatosensory feedback for prosthetics