Yeon Seong Ho, Shu Tony, Song Hyungeun, Hsieh Tsung-Han, Qiao Junqing, Rogers Emily A, Gutierrez-Arango Samantha, Israel Erica, Freed Lisa E, Herr Hugh M
MIT Program in Media Arts and Sciences, and the MIT Center for Extreme Bionics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139 USA.
MIT Health Sciences and Technology Program, and the MIT Center for Extreme Bionics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139 USA.
IEEE Trans Med Robot Bionics. 2021 Aug;3(3):563-572. doi: 10.1109/TMRB.2021.3098952. Epub 2021 Jul 21.
For persons with lower extremity (LE) amputation, acquisition of surface electromyography (sEMG) from within the prosthetic socket remains a significant challenge due to the dynamic loads experienced during the gait cycle. However, these signals are critical for both understanding the clinical effects of LE amputation and determining the desired control trajectories of active LE prostheses. Current solutions for collecting within-socket sEMG are generally (i) incompatible with a subject's prescribed prosthetic socket and liners, (ii) uncomfortable, and (iii) expensive. This study presents an alternative within-socket sEMG acquisition paradigm using a novel flexible and low-profile electrode. First, the practical performance of this Sub-Liner Interface for Prosthetics (SLIP) electrode is compared to that of commercial Ag/AgCl electrodes within a cohort of subjects without amputation. Then, the corresponding SLIP electrode sEMG acquisition paradigm is implemented in a single subject with unilateral transtibial amputation performing unconstrained movements and walking on level ground. Finally, a quantitative questionnaire characterizes subjective comfort for SLIP electrode and commercial Ag/AgCl electrode instrumentation setups. Quantitative analyses suggest comparable signal qualities between SLIP and Ag/AgCl electrodes while qualitative analyses suggest the feasibility of using the SLIP electrode for real-time sEMG data collection from load-bearing, ambulatory subjects with LE amputation.
对于下肢截肢者而言，由于在步态周期中会承受动态负荷，因此从假肢接受腔内采集表面肌电图（sEMG）仍然是一项重大挑战。然而，这些信号对于理解下肢截肢的临床效果以及确定主动式下肢假肢的期望控制轨迹都至关重要。目前用于采集腔内sEMG的解决方案通常存在以下问题：（i）与受试者定制的假肢接受腔和内衬不兼容；（ii）佩戴不舒适；（iii）成本高昂。本研究提出了一种使用新型柔性薄型电极的腔内sEMG采集新模式。首先，在一组非截肢受试者中，将这种假肢内衬下界面（SLIP）电极的实际性能与商用银/氯化银电极进行了比较。然后，在一名单侧经胫骨截肢的受试者身上实施了相应的SLIP电极sEMG采集模式，该受试者进行了无约束运动并在平地上行走。最后，通过一份定量问卷对SLIP电极和商用银/氯化银电极仪器设置的主观舒适度进行了评估。定量分析表明，SLIP电极和银/氯化银电极的信号质量相当，而定性分析表明，使用SLIP电极从有下肢截肢的承重、行走受试者身上实时采集sEMG数据是可行的。
