Applications of machine learning techniques to a sensor-network-based prosthesis training system

In the past, the utilization of the limb prosthesis has improved the daily life of amputees or patients with movement disorders. However, a leg-amputee has to take a series of training after wearing a limb prosthesis, and the training results determine whether a patient can use the limb prosthesis correctly in her/his daily life. Limb prosthesis vendors thus desire to offer the leg-amputee a complete and well-organized training process, but they often fail to do so owing to the factors such as the limited support of human resource and financial condition of the amputee. This work proposes a prosthesis training system that the amputees can borrow or buy from the limb prosthesis vendors and train themselves at home. Instant feedback messages provided by the prosthesis training system are used to correct their walking postures during the self-training process. An embedded chip is used as a core to establish a body area sensor network for the prosthesis training system. RFID readers and tags are employed to acquire the 3D positioning information of the amputee's limbs in this work to assist in diagnosing the amputee's walking problem. A series of simulations were conducted and the simulation results exhibit the effectiveness and practicability of the proposed prosthesis training system.