emg

17 Articles

An Open Hardware Platform For ECG, EEG And Other Measurements

August 13, 2014 by 19 Comments

[Eric] tipped us about the OpenHarwareExG project which goal is to build a device that allows the creation of electrophysiological signal processing applications. By the latter they mean electrocardiography (ECG, activity of the heart), electroencephalography (EEG, signals on the scalp), electromyography (EMG, skeletal muscles activity), electronystagmography and electrooculography (ENG & EOG, eye movements) monitoring projects. As you can guess these signals are particularly hard to measure due to their small amplitude and therefore susceptibility to electrical noise.

The ADS1299 8-channel 24-bit analog front end used in this platform is actually electrically isolated from the rest of the circuit so the USB connection wouldn’t perturb measurements. An Arduino-compatible ATSAM3X microcontroller is used and all the board is “DIY compatible” as all parts can be sourced in small quantities and soldered by hand. Even the case is open source, being laser cut from acrylic.

Head to the project’s website to download all the source files and see a quick video of the system in action.

Interested in measuring the body’s potential? Check out an ECG that’s nice enough to let you know you have died, or this Android based wireless setup.

 

DIY EMG Uses An Audio Recorder

June 17, 2012 by 15 Comments

[Ericdsc] is looking to capture the electrical impulses of his muscles by using an EMG. He went through several prototypes to find the right recipe for sensors to pick up the electrical signal through his skin. Above you can see the version that worked best. Each sensor is made starting with a piece of duct tape and laying out a patch of stripped wire on it. A 5cmx1xm piece of aluminum foil then covers this, and second smaller piece of foil covers the cable’s shielding (not pictured here). This will stick to your skin to hold the sensor in place after applying a dab of sugar syrup to help make a good electrical connection.

In this case, an audio recorder is taking the measurements. [Ericdsc] had been having trouble sleeping and wanted to find out if he’s restless in bed. The audio recorder can log hours of data from the sensors which he can later analyze on the computer. Of course, it wouldn’t be hard to build your own amplifier circuit and process the signals in real-time. Maybe you want to convert that mind-controlled Pong game over to use abdominal control. You’ll have a six-pack in no time.

EMG Controlled Prosthesis

May 4, 2010 by 7 Comments

This prosthetic arm is the result of a student project. [Amnon Demri] and his classmates built it with below-the-elbow amputees in mind. It uses electromyography to actuate the fingers and wrist. Four stick-on sensors are placed around the elbow to sense electrical activity there. These signals are interpreted by a PIC 16f877a microcontroller which then controls the servo motors to operate the prosthetic limb. This sounds like a very economical solution and as you can see in the videos after the break, it works fairly well.

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