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Published on: September 28, 2019
Whitening of the electromyogram for improved classification accuracy in prosthesis control
Lukai Liu1, Pu Liu, Edward A Clancy
1Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 100 Institute Rd, Worcester, MA 01609, USA. lliu35@wpi.edu
Summary
EMG whitening improves myoelectric prosthesis control by enhancing electromyogram (EMG) signal pattern recognition. This preprocessing step significantly boosted classification accuracy for user intent, particularly with shorter analysis windows.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Rehabilitation Engineering
- Signal Processing
Background:
- Electromyogram (EMG) signals are crucial for myoelectric prosthesis control.
- Current control schemes rely on classifying EMG signals for user intent.
- EMG signal preprocessing is key to improving prosthesis functionality.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate EMG whitening as a preprocessing technique for EMG pattern recognition.
- To evaluate the impact of whitening on EMG signal features and classification accuracy.
- To determine optimal conditions for using EMG whitening in prosthesis control.
Main Methods:
- Reanalyzed EMG signals from 10 electrodes in intact subjects and amputees.
- Applied EMG whitening to decorrelate signals.
- Evaluated time-domain features (mean absolute value, signal length) and autoregressive power spectrum coefficients.
- Compared classification accuracy of pre-whitened versus non-whitened models.
Main Results:
- EMG whitening significantly reduced the coefficient of variation for key time-domain features.
- Pre-whitened classification models achieved approximately a 5% increase in accuracy.
- Performance improvements were most pronounced with shorter window durations (<100 ms).
Conclusions:
- EMG whitening is an effective preprocessing step for enhancing EMG pattern recognition.
- This technique improves the accuracy of myoelectric prosthesis control systems.
- Optimizing window duration is important for maximizing the benefits of EMG whitening.
