MUSSA-IVALDI F. A.

In human–machine interfaces, decoder calibration is critical to enable an effective and seamless interaction with the machine. However, recalibration is often necessary as the decoder off-line predictive power does not generally imply ease-of-use, due to closed loop dynamics and user adaptation that cannot be accounted for during the...

While the concept of force is solidly grounded in Newtonian mechanics, it is not known if it is also represented in a consistent way by our brains as they control interactions of the hand with external objects. For example, a force of 10 N applied against different springs will cause different amounts of displacement. Are we able to represent...

A medical student learning to perform a laparoscopic procedure or a recently paralyzed user of a powered wheelchair must learn to operate machinery via interfaces that translate their actions into commands for an external device. Since the user's actions are selected from a number of alternatives that would result in the same effect in the...

The purpose of this study was to find a parsimonious representation of hand kinematics data that could facilitate prosthetic hand control. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and a non-linear Autoencoder Network (nAEN) were compared in their effectiveness at capturing the essential characteristics of a wide spectrum of hand gestures and actions....

Myoelectric Computer Interfaces (MCIs) are a viable option to promote the recovery of movements following spinal cord injury (SCI), stroke, or other neurological disorders that impair motor functions. We developed and tested a MCI interface with the goal of reducing abnormal muscular activations due to compensatory strategies or undesired...

In this study, we consider a non-invasive body-machine interface that captures body motions still available to people with spinal cord injury (SCI) and maps them into a set of signals for controlling a computer user interface while engaging in a sustained level of mobility and exercise. We compare the effectiveness of two decoding algorithms...

Background: The recovery of upper limb mobility and functions is essential for people with cervical spinal cord injuries (cSCI) to maximize independence in daily activities and ensure a successful return to normality. The rehabilitative path should include a thorough neuromotor evaluation and personalized treatments aimed at recovering motor...

The purpose of this study was to identify rehabilitative effects and changes in white matter microstructure in people with high-level spinal cord injury following bilateral upper-extremity motor skill training. Five subjects with high-level (C5–C6) spinal cord injury (SCI) performed five visuo-spatial motor training tasks over 12 sessions (2–3...