A research team led by Professor Sang-hoon Lee at the Department of Robotics and Mechatronics Engineering, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology has successfully developed an imperceptive surface electromyography (sEMG) sensor. The sensor is crucial in allowing lower limb amputees to control robotic prosthetic legs as they want and is expected to contribute greatly to rehabilitation and a better quality of life.
With the recent rise in lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, there is a rapidly growing number of additional lower limb amputees. The permanent effects of lower limb amputation are not only physical disability but also psychological disability. To tackle this problem, bionic lower limb technology has been developed in recent years to replace a lost leg with robotic prosthetics.
The most important thing in developing robotic prosthetic legs is to stably implement the lower limb function as intended by amputees, and in order to do so, the ability to rapidly and accurately acquire the amputees’ biological signals is required. The most suitable method is to use non-invasive sEMG sensors; however, these sensors are difficult to use in practice.
The sensor must be located inside the silicone liner of the socket to record electromyographic signals. However, the silicone liner is very narrow, it creates a humid environment, and it is impacted by the socket, which is subject to strong dynamic movements due to the weight of a robotic prosthetic leg. This makes it impossible to stably record muscles’ biological signals for a prolonged period of time without damage to the sensor itself.
In this context, a research team led by Professor Sang-hoon Lee at DGIST developed an imperceptive sEMG sensor, a biointerface formed through a microelectromechanical system. The study is published in the journal npj Flexible Electronics.
The imperceptive sEMG sensor developed by the research team mimics a serpentine structure to provide flexibility and elasticity while achieving breathability and adhesion. Hence, the sensor can be applied to various amputated parts of the body and can be used repeatedly over an extended period of time. » …
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