Portable Thumb Training System for EMG Signal Measurement and Analysis

Restoring human limb that is lost due to accidents or amputation because of vascular diseases with prosthesis is one challenging issue in engineering field. The loss of human body, especially the upper and lower limbs will limit the daily activities of patient in many ways. There were many studies that had been done previously in developing prostheses which were simpler in the forms than human limb. However, the performance of these units was mostly unnatural and is damped by constraint in the model of the limbs. In this paper, the development of thumb training system that allows the measurement of electromyography (EMG) signal when the thumb is flexed at different angles with varying force is discussed. The parameters are then possible to be used with conjunction of Hill's muscle model to develop a more precise model of the thumb. The platform also features several adjustments so as to suit various size of human hands. The result from EMG measurement from the system shows that the system is able to characterize the EMG signal of thumb at different pose and force.