A comprehensive system for the acquisition of EMG signals and muscle force in lower limb

Abstract

Electromyography (EMG) signals are used in a wide variety of research fields including sports, rehabilitation, diagnosis of muscular diseases, prosthetics, robotics, ergonomics, and muscular fatigue, among others. These signals contain valuable information about the activity of the muscle fibers and are related to the muscle's ability to generate force. However, these signals are highly susceptible to noise and interference, which is why multiple efforts found in the literature aim to reduce these disturbances and obtain signals with better quality. This work documents the design and conception of a new a machine meant to record EMG signals and resulting muscle force from the lower limb. This device consists of an instrumented leg extension machine with the necessary equipment for force measurement and EMG signals. All the while reducing one of the most common sources of interference such as artifact noise that is the involuntary movement of the sensors. In addition, this machine does not need extensive training or tests prior to capturing the data that will be used for processing. It is expected that the information of the force and EMG signals can be used for model validation, medical diagnosis, patient follow-up, etc.