A Mass-Producible Washable Smart Garment with Embedded Textile EMG Electrodes for Control of Myoelectric Prostheses: A Pilot Study
Key finding
A fully textile forearm sleeve with 14 EMG electrodes, robust across 30 washes, trained a neural network to classify 7 finger movements and successfully controlled a myoelectric prosthetic hand.
Abstract
Electromyography (EMG) is the resulting electrical signal from muscle activity, commonly used as a proxy for users’ intent in voluntary control of prosthetic devices. EMG signals are recorded with gold standard Ag/AgCl gel electrodes, though there are limitations in continuous use applications, with potential skin irritations and discomfort. Alternative dry solid metallic electrodes also face long-term usability and comfort challenges due to their inflexible and non- breathable structures. This is critical when the anatomy of the targeted body region is variable (e.g., residual limbs of individuals with amputation), and conformal contact is essential. In this study, textile electrodes were developed, and their performance in recording EMG signals was compared to gel electrodes. Additionally, to assess the reusability and robustness of the textile electrodes, the effect of 30 consumer washes was investigated. Comparisons were made between the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), with no statistically significant difference, and with the power spectral density (PSD), showing a high correlation. Subsequently, a fully textile sleeve was fabricated covering the forearm, with 14 textile electrodes. For three individuals, an artificial neural network model was trained, capturing the EMG of 7 distinct finger movements. The personalized models were then used to successfully control a myoelectric prosthetic hand
What this proves at MyantX
This pilot closes the loop from muscle to machine: a fully textile forearm sleeve with 14 EMG electrodes, robust across 30 washes, trained a neural network to classify seven finger movements and drove a myoelectric prosthetic hand. It is the direct evidence behind our prosthetics EMG garment work and the Textile EMG claims in prosthetics and orthotics. Crucially it was designed to be mass-producible — a path from lab to product, not a one-off.
This research backs
Modalities
Cite this paper
Milad Alizadeh-Meghrazi, Gurjant Sidhu, Saransh Jain, Michael Stone, Ladan Eskandarian, Amirali Toossi, Milos R. Popovic. “A Mass-Producible Washable Smart Garment with Embedded Textile EMG Electrodes for Control of Myoelectric Prostheses: A Pilot Study.” Sensors, 2022. https://doi.org/10.3390/s22020666
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