0201889<br/>Gonzalez<br/>Upper extremity movement coordination and control remains a critical area of research as the mapping from neural control to specified movements becomes better understood. The areas of (1) upper extremity motor control and musculoskeletal dynamics, (2) the interaction of the upper extremity with the surroundings, and ultimately (3) fine end-user control of prosthetics in normal and altered environments, have been individually studied by many investigators. These three distinct areas are merged into one cohesive project, permitting the development of a comprehensive research tool to aid in studying upper extremity motor-control and musculoskeletal dynamics, and new scientific advancements in prosthetic neural-control. This research instrument represents the anatomical characteristics of the human arm in a fully-functional linkage that can be controlled by a user via a series of muscle electrical signals (EMG). Control of this human-like arm that can accurately simulate movements based only on a user's neural signals, is termed the "Intelligent Prosthetic Arm."<br/><br/>The research entails the design and development of a graphical and musculoskeletal dynamic model using 4 degrees-of-freedom at the elbow and wrist joints to study the interaction of the major muscles crossing these joints. The computational model will be used subsequently with a hybrid optimal control / neural network algorithm to predict joint moments from a series of EMG signals. The predicted trajectory will direct the position of the "Intelligent Prosthetic Arm" in order for a subject to test the reliability of the motion of the prosthetic arm under various tasks. The arm will be adapted into different virtual environments by the use of a servomotor and a mobile Adept robot to simulate various altered dynamic environments. Extensive sets of experimental data will be gathered to quantify the motion of the elbow and wrist joints. These data will represent joint kinematics and EMG signals from a variety of muscles and are used to develop and verify the computational model. Experimental data will also be used to train the model toward accurate predictions of joint motion for use in the Intelligent Prosthetic Arm.<br/><br/>The research project will be performed primarily by undergraduate students at LeTourneau University. To enhance the experience, 2 to 3 weeks during the summer months will be spent at the biomechanics lab at the University of Delaware to review and consult with other investigators and students involved in related research projects.