Many upper-limb amputees retain ability to control a hand, however no suitable mechanical hand is available to them. We developed a hand/arm virtual interface (VIA) that allows amputees to manipulate objects within a virtual environment.

The interface uses residual myo-kinetic signals expressed at the surface of the forearm to control the virtual hand, while arm reaching is transduced by a goniometer. In preliminary tests amputees readily gained control of the virtual hand, and successfully used it to manipulate objects in a pick-and-place task. VIA thus can be a useful tool for assessing and training amputees for using a dexterous hand.