Surface Electromyography for MAN-Machine Interfacing in Rehabilitation Technologies

This chapter describes the use of surface electromyography (EMG) for establishing intuitive man-machine interfaces for rehabilitation settings and technologies. The EMG is primarily used as source of neural information, to provide control signals for external devices. The chapter also describes the general concepts underlying the extraction of control signals from surface EMG recordings. It presents examples of neurorehabilitation technologies based on surface EMG. The surface EMG signal can be used to trigger or continuously control external assistive devices including powered orthoses and prostheses. The chapter outlines representative examples of neurotechnologies that make use of EMG signals for device control purposes. It provides examples in the three main areas of neurorehabilitation: replacement, restoration, and neuromodulation. EMG signals were recorded from seven muscles including: vastus medialis, vastus lateralis, rectus femoris, lateral hamstrings, medial hamstrings, gastrocnemius medialis, and gastrocnemius lateralis.