Development of a Low-Cost Portable EMG for Measuring the Muscular Activity of Workers in the Field

This study explores the development and validation of a low-cost electromyography (EMG) device for monitoring muscle activity and muscle fatigue by monitoring the key features in EMG time and frequency domains. The device consists of a Raspberry Pico microcontroller interfacing a Myoware EMG module. The experiment involved 34 volunteers (14 women, 20 men) who performed isometric and isotonic contractions using a hand dynamometer. The low-cost EMG device was compared to a research-grade EMG device, recording EMG signals simultaneously. Key features including root mean square (RMS), median power frequency (MDF), and mean power frequency (MNF) were extracted to evaluate muscle fatigue. During isometric contraction, a strong congruence between the two devices, with similar readings and behavior of the extracted features, was observed, and the Wilcoxon signed rank test confirmed no significant difference in the ability to detect muscle fatigue between the devices. For isotonic contractions, the low-cost device demonstrated behavior similar to the professional EMG device in 70.58% of cases, despite some susceptibility to noise and movement. This suggests the potential viability of the low-cost EMG device as a portable tool for assessing muscle fatigue, enabling accessible and cost-effective management of muscle health in various work scenarios.