Concept of applying EMG for the hardware and software complex recurrent laryngeal nerve identification during thyroid surgery

The concept of using electromyography (EMG) during thyroid surgery is considered in this article. The muscle membrane potential of the vocal cord as electrophysiology of surgical wound tissues was investigated. An analysis of EMG hardware that can be used during thyroid surgeries was conducted. The choice of EMG sensor characteristics, which can be implemented into the existing complex of RLN monitoring, is justified. The concept of complex RLN monitoring designed on a high-performance microcontroller, the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B, is given. A description of additional hardware elements to combine complex and sensor is provided. The software for the sensor's functioning is also described. The developed EMG sensor was tested on a different type of low-voltage signals. It was able to detect signals, and it forms 197 µV (1 Hz), 556 µV (20 Hz), and 1650 µV (10 Hz). The conducted tests show that the developed EMG sensor can detect the muscle membrane potential of the vocal cord.