Michele Canepa

Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia | IIT · Rehab Technologies Lab

Objective: The bidirectional communication between the user and the prosthesis is an important requirement when developing prosthetic hands. Proprioceptive feedback is fundamental to perceiving prosthesis movement without the need for constant visual attention. We propose a novel solution to encode wrist rotation using a vibromotor array and Gauss...

Introduction In recent years, hand prostheses achieved relevant improvements in term of both motor and functional recovery. However, the rate of devices abandonment, also due to their poor embodiment, is still high. The embodiment defines the integration of an external object – in this case a prosthetic device – into the body scheme of an individua...

The journey of a prosthetic user is characterized by the opportunities and the limitations of a device that should enable activities of daily living (ADL). In particular, experiencing a bionic hand as a functional (and, advantageously, embodied) limb constitutes the premise for promoting the practice in using the device, mitigating the risk of its...

Background Cybathlon championship aims at promoting the development of prosthetic and assistive devices capable to meet users’ needs. This paper describes and analyses possible exploitation outcomes of our team’s (REHAB TECH) experience into the Powered Arm Prosthesis Race of the Cybathlon 2020 Global Edition, with the novel prosthetic system Hanne...

We implemented a Bluetooth Low Energy system concerning the acquisition, encryption, wireless transmission, and reconstruction of the electromyographic signal for prosthetic control. The system is expandable with other devices supporting Bluetooth and is a valuable alternative to the current proprietary implantable EMG systems, which use restricted...

Polyarticulated hands exhibit human-likeness in their physical properties and functionality; however, they are still relatively far from the complexity, dexterity, and adaptability of the human hand. Moreover, as they typically rely on feedback control for the regulation of force and position, their behavior is much closer to that of robotic device...

For decades, powered exoskeletons have been considered for possible employment in rehabilitation and personal use. Yet, these devices are still far from addressing the needs of users. Here, we introduce TWIN, a novel modular lower limb exoskeleton for personal use of spinal-cord injury (SCI) subjects. This system was designed according to a set of...

Replacing the human hand with artificial devices of equal capability and effectiveness is a long-standing challenge. Even the most advanced hand prostheses, which have several active degrees of freedom controlled by the electrical signals of the stump’s residual muscles, do not achieve the complexity, dexterity, and adaptability of the human hand....

A network infrastructure conceived for the interconnection of distributed Power Quality metering units is presented. Various degrees of interconnection, mobility and autonomy are achieved through the network interfaces, the high-reliability power supply, the real-time configurability and control. The units can operate stand-alone, in mesh topology...

The measurement of the magnetic field for the evaluation of human exposure is considered, addressing the requisites and specifications of a robust and reliable portable instrument, that outperforms existing products in some aspects related to on-site use, reliability and ruggedness. A rugged open instrument is the response to the exigency of deploy...

A Power Quality metering instrument is presented, that features high flexibility and communication capabilities and is suitable for a hierarchical network connection. Once deployed, the complete control through the network and long mission time when on the local battery make it suitable for unsupervised applications at electric transportation syste...