Electrode Density Affects the Robustness of Myoelectric Pattern Recognition System With and Without Electrode Shift.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Rehabilitation Engineering

Background:

• High-density (HD) electrodes offer increased signal resolution for myoelectric control.
• Current understanding of HD electrode performance under varying conditions is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of electrode density on pattern recognition-based myoelectric control.
• To analyze how electrode density influences control performance with electrode shifts.

Main Methods:

• Evaluated four electrode density levels across parallel and perpendicular muscle fiber orientations.
• Tested performance under three conditions: no shift, 10-mm parallel shift, and 10-mm perpendicular shift.
• Assessed classification performance of myoelectric control algorithms.

Main Results:

• Increased electrode density improved performance without any shift.
• Performance deteriorated with perpendicular shifts as density increased.
• Parallel shifts showed complex effects, with density impacting performance variably.

Conclusions:

• Electrode density significantly influences myoelectric control, with performance highly dependent on electrode placement consistency.
• Findings provide crucial insights for optimizing electrode design and placement in advanced myoelectric prostheses.