State of the art and perspectives of ultrasound imaging as a human-machine interface

Abstract

Medical ultrasound imaging is a diagnostic tool based upon ultrasound wave production, propagation and processing, in use since the 50s in the hospitals all over the world. The technique is totally safe, relatively cheap, easy to use and provides live images of the interiors of the human body at both high spatial and temporal resolutions. In this chapter we examine its use as a novel human-machine interface. Recent research indicates that it actually represents an effective, realistic tool for intention gathering, at least for the hand amputees. Given the current state of the art, medical ultrasound imaging can be used to control an upper-limb prosthesis to a high degree of precision; moreover, the related calibration procedure can be made extremely short and simple, with the aim of building an ultrasound-based online control system. We propose and discuss its pros and cons as an interface for the disabled, we elaborate on its potentialities as a tool for intention gathering, and we show that it has great potential in the short- and mid-term.