Design of a Rapid Prototyping Platform for Applications in Physiological Signal Processing

The role of technology in helping to unlock the wealth of information in physiological signals has been recognized since the invention of the stethescope in 1816. The last decade has seen tremendous growth in the development of devices designed to interact with these signals, however, the complexity of such devices has grown without sufficient consideration given to their place in real systems. This report details the design of a rapid prototyping platform for the development of low-power real-time applications in processing physiological signals. A case study is given, wherein this work was used to develop an electromyographically controlled hand prosthesis. The results of this case study are used to demonstrate that the system provides superior noise and power performance, while maintaining a high degree of customizability and still meeting the intense processing requirements of even a very sophisticated application. The rich functionality and relatively low cost of the proposed system positions it as an extremely valuable tool in creating the next generation of human interfacing devices.