Application of Electromyography in Rehabilitation Devices

Abstract

With the increase in disability rate as well as rise in the elderly population, there is a need for a much prompt and advance methods to deliver the rehabilitation and assistive services to the patients. One important element in this context is the robotics rehabilitation devices. The therapeutic alliance is an important factor that needs to be addressed for these robotic devices where user compliance is still a broad field to be explored. Bio-signals have shown a promising approach in improving user physical and cognitive integration with these devices. Electromyogram (EMG) is one such bio-signal, originating from the peripheral nervous system, which is capable of interpreting the motion intent of the user. In the present study, the usability of EMG is shown for its feasibility in the context of rehabilitation devices. Method for acquisition, processing and classification of EMG has been discussed.