Techniques of EMG signal analysis: detection, processing, classification and applications

Electromyography (EMG) signals can be used for clinical/biomedical applications, Evolvable Hardware Chip (EHW) development, and modern human computer interaction. EMG signals acquired from muscles require advanced methods for detection, decomposition, processing, and classification. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the various methodologies and algorithms for EMG signal analysis to provide efficient and effective ways of understanding the signal and its nature. We further point up some of the hardware implementations using EMG focusing on applications related to prosthetic hand control, grasp recognition, and human computer interaction. A comparison study is also given to show performance of various EMG signal analysis methods. This paper provides researchers a good understanding of EMG signal and its analysis procedures. This knowledge will help them develop more powerful, flexible, and efficient applications

Measurement of finite-frequency current statistics in a single-electron transistor

Electron transport in nano-scale structures is strongly influenced by the Coulomb interaction which gives rise to correlations in the stream of charges and leaves clear fingerprints in the fluctuations of the electrical current. A complete understanding of the underlying physical processes requires measurements of the electrical fluctuations on all time and frequency scales, but experiments have so far been restricted to fixed frequency ranges as broadband detection of current fluctuations is an inherently difficult experimental procedure. Here we demonstrate that the electrical fluctuations in a single electron transistor (SET) can be accurately measured on all relevant frequencies using a nearby quantum point contact for on-chip real-time detection of the current pulses in the SET. We have directly measured the frequency-dependent current statistics and hereby fully characterized the fundamental tunneling processes in the SET. Our experiment paves the way for future investigations of interaction and coherence induced correlation effects in quantum transport.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, published in Nature Communications (open access

Central Alpha Bicoherence Is Reduced in Photosensitive Subjects

The photic driving response is known to induce epileptiform activity in photosensitive subjects and a recent hypothesis suggests that a reduced inhibitory effect of the alpha oscillations may be associated to this phenomenon. In this work, we studied the linear and non-linear spectral characteristic of the physiological alpha rhythms during a visual stimulation protocol in a group of twelve healthy and eight treated photosensitive subjects. Results confirmed the desynchronization of the individual alpha power during stimulation over the occipital region in both the groups and over the central for the PS subjects. A reduced bicoherence of the central alpha rhythm in PS subjects was found, suggesting the presence of a different behavior in the cortical structures involved in the generation of the alpha oscillations, both at rest and during visual stimulation