Surface Electromyographic Signal Acquisition System for Real Time Monitoring of Upper Limbs Muscles

Abstract

The main goal of this paper is to present the design of a surface electromyography acquisition, processing and amplification system with low power consumption. Based on a micro-controller and a Bluetooth module, it must send the data to a cell phone in real time. The main topology is based on an operational amplifier and passive components in order to produce filters and an instrumentation amplifier applied to Electromyography (EMG). This paper also shows the equations used during design and describes each step of development, from simulations and testing to acquired data and microcontroller programming. In order to produce a low-cost circuit that can be later used as an acquisition tool for portable mechanisms and prosthesis, the design of the main circuit considers the lowest number of components while it does not compromise efficiency.