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Performance of electromyography recorded using textile electrodes in classifying arm movements
Guanglin Li1, Yanjuan Geng, Dandan Tao
1Key Laboratory of Health Informatics of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, CAS, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518055, China. gl.li@)siat.ac.cn
Summary
Textile electrodes offer a convenient alternative to traditional gel electrodes for myoelectric prosthetics. Our study found textile electrodes perform comparably to conventional ones in classifying arm movements.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Rehabilitation Engineering
- Prosthetics and Orthotics
Background:
- Electromyography (EMG) signals are crucial for myoelectric prosthetic control, typically using Ag/AgCl gel electrodes.
- Gelled electrodes, while effective, present clinical inconveniences.
- Textile electrodes offer a promising, potentially more practical, alternative for EMG signal acquisition.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the performance of novel textile electrodes compared to conventional gel electrodes for classifying arm movements in myoelectric prosthetics.
- To determine if textile electrodes can achieve comparable accuracy to gel electrodes in identifying various arm and hand movements.
Main Methods:
- Custom-made bipolar textile electrodes were fabricated using copper-based nickel-plated conductive fabric.
- EMG signals were recorded from six able-bodied subjects using both textile and conventional gel electrodes.
- The classification accuracy of nine arm and hand movements was assessed for both electrode types.
Main Results:
- The average classification accuracy for textile electrodes was 94.05%.
- The average classification accuracy for conventional electrodes was 94.26%.
- No significant difference (p=0.81) was found between the performance of textile and conventional electrodes.
Conclusions:
- Textile electrodes demonstrate comparable performance to conventional gel electrodes in classifying arm movements for myoelectric prosthesis control.
- These findings suggest that textile electrodes are a viable and potentially more convenient option for myoelectric prosthetic applications.
