Voluntary Closing
Also written as: VC — Voluntary Closing
A body-powered terminal device control scheme in which active cable tension produces grip force, allowing proportional prehension control.
Full Definition
In a voluntary-closing (VC) terminal device, the user exerts increasing cable tension to proportionally increase grip strength, mimicking a more natural grasp pattern. The device opens passively when tension is released. Voluntary closing is generally considered to provide greater dexterity and prehensile control than voluntary opening. Editors should note the hyphenation and the VC abbreviation, which must not be confused with 'vital capacity' in medical documents covering multiple clinical domains.
Usage
Usage note: Hyphenate as a compound modifier. Flag the abbreviation VC for disambiguation if the document spans multiple clinical specialties.
In Context
- "A voluntary-closing terminal device was selected to give the patient proportional grip control during vocational tasks." — Rehabilitation plan
- "When VC appears in a prosthetics document, confirm from context whether it means 'voluntary closing' or 'vital capacity.'" — Editorial style note