Design, Fabrication and Evaluation of a Stretchable High-Density Electromyography Array

• Published in: Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 24; no. 6; p. 1810
• Main Authors: Varghese, Rejin John, Pizzi, Matteo, Kundu, Aritra, Grison, Agnese, Burdet, Etienne, Farina, Dario
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 11.03.2024; MDPI
• Subjects: Analysis; CAD; Circuit printing; Computer aided design; Curing; Electrodes; Electromyography; HD-EMG; Humans; human–machine interfacing; Hygiene; Motion; Neurophysiology; Printed circuits; Research methodology; Rubber; Silicones; soft robotics and sensing; surface electromyography; wearable sensors; China; human–machine interfacing; wearable sensors; surface electromyography; HD-EMG; soft robotics and sensing
• ISSN: 1424-8220; 1424-8220
• DOI: 10.3390/s24061810

The adoption of high-density electrode systems for human–machine interfaces in real-life applications has been impeded by practical and technical challenges, including noise interference, motion artefacts and the lack of compact electrode interfaces. To overcome some of these challenges, we introduce a wearable and stretchable electromyography (EMG) array, and present its design, fabrication methodology, characterisation, and comprehensive evaluation. Our proposed solution comprises dry-electrodes on flexible printed circuit board (PCB) substrates, eliminating the need for time-consuming skin preparation. The proposed fabrication method allows the manufacturing of stretchable sleeves, with consistent and standardised coverage across subjects. We thoroughly tested our developed prototype, evaluating its potential for application in both research and real-world environments. The results of our study showed that the developed stretchable array matches or outperforms traditional EMG grids and holds promise in furthering the real-world translation of high-density EMG for human–machine interfaces.