With this research we intend to:

1. investigate the information content embedded in the muscle activity from normal innervated muscles in able-body subjects or from residual muscles in amputated patients,
2. develop an algorithm that accurately deciphers neural commands from EMG, and
3. design the prosthetic control strategy with robustness and a large safety margin.

• Able-bodied people and leg amputees between the ages of 18 and 60 will complete these experiments.
• The subjects must not have cognitive deficits or visual impairment that would impair their ability to give informed consent or impair their ability to follow simple instructions during the experiments. 
• The subjects cannot have any significant co-morbidity that interferes with the study (e.g. stroke, pace maker placement, etc.). 
• Subjects cannot be on an anticoagulant, such as coumadin.

Enrollment:

Recruited subjects are expected to visit RIC two or more times, but participation is strictly voluntary and subjects can withdraw from any experiment at any time for any reason without consequence.