Design, Prototyping, Validation, and Testing of a Wearable Surface Electromyography Acquisition System.

摘要

Surface electromyography (sEMG) can provide clinicians an objective measure of muscle function. Despite strong evidence of its utility, clinical use of sEMG is limited because of the time, costs, and complexity associated with conventional acquisition systems. To address the shortcomings of conventional sEMG systems, we introduce the WEAR (Wearable EMG Analysis for Rehabilitation), a compact, wearable sEMG acquisition system with wireless capabilities.;Functional performance of the WEAR prototype was compared against a conventional sEMG acquisition system, which employed a single pair of disposable pre-gelled Ag/AgC1 electrodes and discreet component design. Data from isotonic, isometric contractions and walking trials from 10 participants were used to evaluate sEMG signal quality. Results suggest that sEMG output from the WEAR prototype was comparable to the conventional sEMG acquisition system output, even with the use of an array of reusable polarizable electrodes and the integrated analog front end.;In this thesis, a user-centred design (UCD) process is introduced as a means to research end-user (physiotherapist) needs and limitations, validate initial design concepts, and capture design requirements. A functional prototype WEAR system was implemented based on two novel concepts: 1) a wearable electrode mount housing a reusable polarizable electrode array, and 2) a multi-channel integrated analog front end solution, originally intended for use in electrocardiography and electroencephalography applications.