Design and Validation of a Wireless Body Sensor Network for Integrated EEG and HD-sEMG Acquisitions

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Biomedical Engineering
• Signal Processing

Background:

• Sensorimotor integration involves brain planning of motor execution based on external cues.
• Corticomuscular and corticokinematic coherence analyses are key methods for studying central motor control.
• Current wired systems for electroencephalography (EEG) and high-density surface electromyography (HD-sEMG) acquisition limit naturalistic research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and validate a fully wireless body sensor network for integrated EEG and HD-sEMG signal acquisition.
• To address the need for advanced instrumentation in studying sensorimotor integration.
• To overcome the limitations of wired systems in dynamic research contexts.

Main Methods:

• Development of a wireless body sensor network comprising wireless bio-signal acquisition modules (sensor units).
• Implementation of synchronization modules for time-locked recordings.
• System characterization focusing on synchronization accuracy and signal quality.
• Head-to-head comparison of the wireless EEG sensor unit with a wired benchmark device.

Main Results:

• The wireless system successfully achieved integrated acquisition of EEG and HD-sEMG signals.
• Characterization confirmed the accuracy of synchronization and the quality of collected bio-signals.
• The wireless EEG sensor unit demonstrated performance comparable to wired systems.

Conclusions:

• The developed wireless body sensor network advances the state-of-the-art for integrated biosignal acquisition.
• This system facilitates more naturalistic and dynamic studies of sensorimotor integration.
• The technology enables improved investigation into the central control of muscle activation.