Wearable Electronics for Surface and Needle Electromyography Measurements

Abstract

Because the electromyography (EMG) signal can reflect the potential of muscle contraction controlled by neural activities, it has aroused great interest from researchers. As a result, a number of studies have been conducted around EMG. EMG-based wearable electronics are used not only in the diagnosis of neurogenic or myogenic diseases but also in sports science, rehabilitation, augmented reality, and virtual reality. This article briefly introduces the development history and background of EMG technology, then focuses on the classification of EMG and its technical mechanisms and reviews representative EMG-based wearable electronics. Finally, the challenges and development trends of EMG-based wearable electronics are also discussed. Developing devices with high specificity, adaptability, and robustness remains challenging. It has become a trend to optimize EMG signals' classification, characterization and noise cancellation algorithms for future study by combining multiple technical means. Because of the various applications of wearable electronic devices based on EMG measurements, it will have promising prospects in many fields.