The purpose of the present study is to investigate whether distribution patterns of the maximum fingertip force in all directions from 0 deg to 360 deg around the index fingertip are the same among subjects. Distributions of the maximum index fingertip force were measured at four finger postures for five subjects (healthy males, ages 21 to 25). It became apparent that distribution patterns of the fingertip force were very similar among subjects, through the application of an analysis of variance (level of significance: 5%) to the measurement results. In the production of the maximum fingertip force, Valero-Cuevas et al. [1998, 2000] reported that patterns of control signals for driving muscle forces were common among subjects. The results of the present study indicate that patterns of maximum fingertip force are also similar among subjects. Therefore, the possibility is high that the static transfer characteristic for index fingers from input (i.e., control signals to muscles) to output (i.e., the maximum fingertip force) is also common among subjects.

Issue Section:
Technical Papers
Keywords:
biomechanics, muscle, biocontrol, force measurement, biomedical measurement
Topics:
Muscle, Signals, Manipulators
1.
Salisbury
,
J. K.
,
Craig
,
J. J.
,
1982
, “
Articulated Hands: Force Control and Kinematic Issues
,”
Int. J. Robot. Res.
,
1
(
1
), pp.
4
–
17
.
2.
Yoshikawa
,
T.
,
1985
, “
Manipulability of Robotic Mechanisms
,”
Int. J. Robot. Res.
,
4
(
2
), pp.
3
–
9
.
3.
Zajac
,
F. E.
,
1989
, “
Muscle and Tension: Properties, Models Scaling, and Application to Biomechanics and Motor Control
,”
Crit. Rev. Biomed. Eng.
,
17
(
4
), pp.
359
–
411
.
4.
Kaufman
,
K. R.
,
An
,
K. N.
, and
Chao
,
E. Y. S.
,
1989
, “
Incorporation of Muscle Architecture into the Muscle Length-Tension Relationship
,”
J. Biomech.
,
22
(
8/9
), pp.
943
–
948
.
5.
Keir
,
P. J.
,
Wells
,
R. P.
, and
Ranney
,
D. A.
,
1996
, “
Passive Properties of the Forearm Musculature With Reference to Hand and Finger Posture
,”
Clin. Biomech. (Los Angel. Calif.)
,
11
(
7
), pp.
401
–
409
.
6.
Long
,
C.
,
1968
, “
Intrinsic-Extrinsic Muscle Control of the Fingers: Electromyographic Studies
,”
J. Bone Jt. Surg., Am.
50A
(
5
), pp.
973
–
984
.
7.
Long
,
C.
,
Conrad
,
P. W.
,
Hall
,
E. A.
, and
Furler
,
S. L.
,
1970
, “
Intrin-sic-Extrinsic Muscle Control of the Hand in Power Grip and Precision Handling
,”
J. Bone Jt. Surg., Am.
52A
(
5
), pp.
853
–
867
.
8.
Sommerich, C. M., Marras, W. S., and Parnianpour, M., 1995, “Activity of Index Finger Muscles During Typing,” Proc. The Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting, pp. 620–624.
9.
Maier
,
M. A.
, and
Hepp-Reymond
,
M. C.
,
1995
, “
EMG Activation Patterns During Force Production in Precision Grip I. Contribution of 15 Finger Muscles to Isometric Force
,”
Exp. Brain Res.
,
103
, pp.
108
–
122
.
10.
Valero-Cuevas
,
F. J.
,
Zajac
,
F. E.
, and
Burgar
,
C. G.
,
1998
, “
Large Index-Fingertip Forces are Produced by Subject-Independent Pattern of Muscle Excitation
,”
J. Biomech.
,
31
, pp.
693
–
703
.
11.
Valero-Cuevas
,
F. J.
,
2000
, “
Predictive Modulation of Muscle Coordination Pattern Magnitude Scale Fingertip Force Magnitude over the Voluntary Range
,”
Neurophysiology
,
83
, pp.
1469
–
1479
.
12.
Dempsey
,
P. G.
, and
Ayoub
,
M. M.
,
1996
, “
The Influence of Gender, Grasp Type, Pinch Width and Wrist Position on Sustained Pinch Strength
,”
Int. J. Ind. Ergonom.
,
17
, pp.
259
–
273
.
13.
Radwin
,
R. G.
, and
Oh
,
S.
,
1992
, “
External Finger Forces in Sub-maximal Five-Finger Static Pinch Prehension
,”
Ergonomics
,
35
(
3
), pp.
275
–
288
.
14.
Imrhan
,
S. N.
, and
Sundararajan
,
K.
,
1992
, “
An Investigation of Finger Pull Strengths
,”
Ergonomics
,
35
(
3
), pp.
289
–
299
.
15.
Duque
,
J.
,
Masset
,
D.
, and
Malchaire
,
J.
,
1995
, “
Evaluation of Handgrip Force from EMG Measurements
,”
Appl. Ergon
,
26
(
1
), pp.
61
–
66
.
16.
Rash
,
G. S.
,
Belliappa
,
P. P.
,
Wachowiak
,
M. P.
,
Somia
,
N. N.
, and
Gupta
,
A.
,
1999
, “
A Demonstration of the Validity of a 3-D Video Motion Analysis Method for Measuring Finger Flexion and Extension
,”
J. Biomech.
,
32
, pp.
1337
–
1341
.
17.
Rice, J., 1988, “Mathematical Statistics and Data Analysis,” Wadsworth Inc., Belmont, California.
Copyright © 2002
 by ASME
You do not currently have access to this content.