My initial reaction was "What is this? What does this have to do with my project? and Why?"
Turns out it is really important for my project. It is called a Myo Armband, and it is literally the future. At its core, this device is a gesture control accessory. So for your computer, you can install it and use it as a mouse, you can use it to stop a video, you can use it to play Fruit Ninja(which is really fun), and you can even use it to control a drone. For those of you who have seen Iron Man, you know how he interacts with the holograms using his hands, yeah, this is a step towards that. That could be a reality in the next few years using this technology. I have included gifs of some of what it can do below, but the main point is that it is really cool!
So, I got this device and I realized that the way this armband works is really important for my project. Like most of you learned in biology, the muscles that control your hand and finger movement are actually in your forearm. So what this armband does is that it uses 8 sensors and records EMG data. What is EMG you ask? I will explain...
Electromyography, abbreviated as EMG, is the recording of muscle movement as a motor response. It measures the electrical response to the motor neuron signal sent to the muscles in your body. EMG is often used to determine muscle health and to identify nerve damage, carpal tunnel, Lou Gehrig's disease and pinched nerves.
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| An Electromyogram, plotted as Voltage over Time |
The Arm band uses the EMG's in your forearms that correspond to movements of your fingers. It is able to record the EMG data in an electromyogram, that kind of looks like a polygraph test. What does it have to do with my project? It is literally one of the main pillars for my project. Prosthetics record EMG's as a way to communicate with your mind. So the device that I will be using, the Softhand Pro, has an electrode to communicate with EMG's as to whether the hand should open or close. The use of EMG's with prosthetics actually classifies a division of prosthetics known as Myoprosthetics.
Although this device was created as a consumer electronic, it works as an EMG recording device for my project. This week I worked with this and got it to communicate with MATLAB. This means that when I begin the simulations, I can record the EMG's and take those into account as well.
I hope I explained this clearly. If you have any questions, feel free to comment down below. My week was essentially just playing around with this armband device. Oh, also here are gifs, of what the armband can do.
See you all next week!
Sri,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, your research is very intriguing! Since the Myo band records EMG's in the forearm, does this mean it could also work with someone who doesn't have a hand?
Hi Anthony!
DeleteThank you for your comment. Yeah, so for the Softhand Pro, which is the prosthetic hand that I am look at, it is considered a myo prosthetic because it uses the forearm muscles to move. So yeah, you can still consciously control those muscles and that will trigger a response in the prosthetics, thanks to an emg sensor with the prosthetic. Thank you.
Hey Sri! This was so so cool; I didn't know we had advanced so far in technology (or should I say, so much closer to becoming Iron Man haha)! Did you use the Myo Band on yourself to play around with, or did you simply record the data from someone else using it? Also, this may be a silly question, but how exactly does it sense the muscle movement (even as deep as a nerve)? I know the graph says voltage on the y-axis, but how does the band process that? Thank you, and I can't wait for Week 3 :D
ReplyDeleteHi Saleena! Thank you for your comment! Yeah, a lot of research has gone towards robotics and the field of prosthetics has greatly benefited from this. I did play around with the Myo Armband, I bought fruit ninja for my computer and ended up playing it every now and then. Since I also use the bus, I have a lot of time to experiment with it, and I found a way that I can control my phone's music player using the myo armband. I am going to try it out next week. With the muscle movement, the sensors pick up the electrical signal that triggers the muscle's motor response. It picks up the EMG signals and the magnitude of those signals, for instance, when you clench your hand into a fist, there is a signal at a higher voltage, as opposed to when you snap your fingers. It also has multiple sensors that work to pick up the EMG's from the various muscles in your forearm. I hope that makes sense. Thank You!
DeleteWOW! Where is the Myo armband currently available and for how much does it typically sell? In terms of the consumer market, who is typically targeted and for what purposes is it most commonly used?
ReplyDeleteHi Ms. Mitrovich! The myo armband sells for $200 to $300 dollars, and it is used by drone enthusiasts, or people who own google glass, or technology connoisseurs. It hasn't really found a niche in the consumer market yet. People buy it to use it with their drones, mostly that or they buy it to experiment with it and play with it. Like iphones and android phones, there is a developer community for making applications to use with the armband, and they work on updating popular apps, like Netflix, to be used with this as a navigation device.
DeleteYour research is quite interesting! Along the Myo bands working with the forearm, can it also work for other limbs such as parts of one's leg or shoulder?
ReplyDeleteHi Kayan! Yeah, so with the leg, there is a device that can be attached to your lower thigh, and it is used to move the knee joint for prosthetic legs. The main importance of this device with the hand, is that the fingers are really important for the hand. That's part of why, the hand is interesting to me, when compared to other prosthetic devices. Like with a prosthetic leg, you won't need sensors to stimulate toe movement, because, that isn't really that important of a function, whereas with the hand, you need to be able to manipulate the fingers and the palm. They do have EMG sensors though, that read the same electrical signals that the myo armband does, just to a lower degree since there aren't many muscle contractions involved.
DeleteHi Sri! It is so awesome that something that started as a consumer product can be so useful in emerging medical research. Is this the main method your project will develop to connect prosthetics with the human recipient? Or will other techniques be used as well? Can't wait to see more!
ReplyDeleteHi Julia! Yeah, so, not like the entire armband, but EMG sensors will be attached to communicate with the prosthetic hand. When a patient receives a prosthetic hand, they have these smaller wires with EMG sensors that are attached to the arm portion to relay the muscle response over to the prosthetic.
DeleteThe Myo armband is incredible! Is it the only piece of technology with its capabilities or are there more out there? It'd be really cool to see other similar gadgets to further your research specifically.
ReplyDeleteHi Fajr! I think it is the only product out there in the consumer market, and the thing is that it is really experimental right now, so I guess there will be more in the future. Thank you!
DeleteHi Sri,
ReplyDeleteWhat an exciting second week! I think it's so cool how far technology has advanced. I am still a little confused on what the EMG does and what Myoprosthetics is. But, I think it is great that you are researching and playing with these devices to help your research. I can't wait until next week!
Hi Michelle! So the EMG is essentially the signal that your brain sends to a muscle to get it to move. The myoprosthetic is a prosthetic device, such as a prosthetic hand, that is able to pick up these signals using a sensor, and then move, just like a normal hand would. I hope that helps. Thank you!
DeleteHi! When do you plan to begin the simulations? How would the armband correspond with a prosthetic limb? Like, as a translator between the body and the prosthetic limb? Super interesting research! I'm looking forward to the next post.
ReplyDeleteHi Sydney! With the simulations, I hope to start soon, either in my fourth week or the end of this week. Exactly, the armband and the EMG technology does work as a translator. It takes in the signal and then uses it to relay a response in the prosthetic. Thank you!
DeleteHi Sri. Glad to hear that your prosthetic research is going really well. That Myo Armband must've been fun to play around with. I'm guessing that prosthetics work in a similar to the Myo Armband in that they have an EMG recording device to relay the motion directed from motor neurons, correct? Also, can you explain how to read EMG curve, because I know that in a polygraph test the line rises and drops when there is an increase or decrease in heart rate, but what do such changes represent in an EMG graph? Can't wait to hear your progress on week 3.
ReplyDeleteHi Jason! Yeah, exactly,the sensors convey the signal to the prosthetic and get the prosthetic to work. So with the EMG graph shows how over time, the electrical signal fluctuates in voltage, and so when the lines are longer, it shows a stressed muscle. The graph that I used as an example is of a clenched fist being released. The changes represent a stronger or weaker signal that is calling for muscle movement. I hope that helps.Thank you!
DeleteHey, Sri! Your project looks so cool so far, and I didn't know technology had actually progressed to the point of Iron Man. The Myo Armband looks like so much fun, and the science behind it sounds incredible. I just wanted to know (of course, I really don't know much about this at all), how does the armband collect the motor neuron signals? Also, for which body parts are prosthetics created that use EMG's? Your research sounds amazing, and I can't wait to read more!
ReplyDeleteHi Korina! Thank you! With the armband, it is able to use the electrodes in the sensors to pick up the electrical signal that is sent to the muscle when stimulating muscle movement. I do not exactly know how it picks it up, but from my understanding, it is able to recognize when an electrical signal is sent. So EMG sensors are used for any prosthetic that will require amuscle movement. So with the prosthetic hand, since the user needs to be able to hold things and grab things, they need to be able to control the prosthetic, so the prosthetists desgin the prosthetic with either surface EMG sensors, like the armband, that record the surface muscles and their signals, or with intermuscular sensors, that are surgically inserted to record and pick up signals. This is also used with prosthetic legs, so that the user can bend their legs, or relax their leg when standing. and to walk or run. So basically for your hands and legs, EMG sensors are created to stimulate movement. I hope that helps. Thank you!
DeleteSri,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad your project is going well and the Myo armband looks like it is very fun. I am curious as to how the armband is able to receive the responses of the motor neurons and how it is able to interpret the data. The project seems to be going well and i am excited to hear more about it.
Hi Bianca! So the armband is able to use sensors and pick up the electrical signal that your brain sends to a muscle to trigger a muscle response. It then gets that data, and interprets it for navigation purposes by associated certain muscle movements with certain gestures. With the armband, you can see that the person controlling the bb8 droid, clenches his hand into a fist to make it do something, this gesture is interpreted by the myo armband based off of which of the ten senors around your fore arm, pick up an electrical signal. What researchers do is they get the armband to pick up these EMG signals, and record it using a data analysis software and program, which in my case, I am using MATLAB. I hope that helps, Thank you!
DeleteSri,
ReplyDeleteBefore this blog post I do not think I realized the boundaries of prosthetics. I think expanding beyond a 'fake' arm or leg into this myo arm band is really cool! I am looking forward to your posts and to hear more about your data!
Audrey
Thank You!
DeleteHi Sri,
ReplyDeleteCan I just say your project is my FAVORITE. It is so interesting what what you show and teach even further in the future. I can not wait until i can move holograms with my hands!!
Joe Zyadeh
Thank You!
Delete