A Wireless Smart Sensor System for Monitoring EMG Signals

The proposed Phase I outlines a plan to develop a completely wireless, smart surface electromyographic (EMG) system. The project is directed at NASA's request for innovative in-flight and ground-based technologies to improve current methods of monitoring vital organ systems that suffer deleterious effects in micro gravity. The multi-channel digital system will provide reliable, accurate, and noninvasive monitoring of the musculoskeletal system without encumbering the user. The innovation builds on recent technological developments of our group in achieving a wireless EMG sensor prototype, as well as a portable data logger and advanced electrode/skin interfaces. The solution we propose is a significant departure from current state of the art systems that are encumbered by wires, body-worn hardware, and lack on-board processing for smart-sensor capability. During Phase I, the objective is to demonstrate the feasibility of a smart, completely wireless, multichannel EMG monitoring system. The proposed deliverable is a prototype wireless EMG system capable of recording EMG signals concurrently from two sensors, and transmitting raw, or processed versions of the signal to a distant receiver without the need for wires or body-worn hardware. Phase II would focus on the development and testing of a complete EMG system, as well as its commercialization.