Cost effective electro — Resistive band based myo activated prosthetic upper limb for amputees in the developing world

In several developing areas of the world, many amputees have no access to any assistive devices for a normal living. The complexity and huge cost of current prosthetics in the market limit the reach and its applications to these underserved people. The goal of this work is to design a low-cost and efficient myo activated prosthetic upper limb for persons with disabilities who are living in resource-limited areas. The design of the hand is composed of two fingers which are made up of low-cost material and using rapid prototyping methods. The surface EMG signals are captured through wearable electro-resistive bands (ERBs) connected to the amputee's residual arm. Using an Arduino microcontroller, the signals are processed to drive a DC motor for open and close of hand. The design aims to achieve reduced power, lower weight, lower maintenance cost and ease of assembly.