An electromyogram simulator for myoelectric prosthesis testing

Myoelectric prostheses use the naturally occurring surface electromyogram (EMG) produced by extant muscle tissue to provide amputees control of artificial limbs. Design and testing of these devices is currently performed using function generators or the healthy EMG signal of the tester. However, these methods of testing either do not provide data representative of the intended usage or are inconvenient to the tester, respectively. In this paper, we present a simple and portable prototype device which simulates the surface EMG signal in order to test myoelectric prostheses with a currently unavailable level of precision.