Evolution of a capacitive electromyography contactless biosensor: Design and modelling techniques

• Published in: Measurement : journal of the International Measurement Confederation Vol. 145; pp. 460 - 471
• Main Authors: Ng, Charn Loong, Reaz, Mamun Bin Ibne
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Elsevier Ltd 01.10.2019; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Biosensor; Biosensors; Capacitive; Design; Economic conditions; Electrode; Electromyography; Human body; Musculoskeletal diseases; R&D; Research & development; Side effects; Signal processing; Electromyography; Electrode; Capacitive; Biosensor
• ISSN: 0263-2241; 1873-412X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.measurement.2019.05.031

•Performance evaluation on contactless capacitive biosensors developed by different researchers.•Comparison of the design methodology of all the core elements to develop a capacitive biosensor.•Ideal design of capacitive sensor’s capacitance is between 150 pF and 300 pF.•Presents a complete capacitive biosensor’s skin-electrode modelling. Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and ergonomic issues have long-term impacts on the human body, affecting patient health and the world’s economy. To address these issues, electromyography (EMG) can provide detailed information of human muscular activity during the stages of diagnosis and recovery and for general monitoring. The conventional way to extract EMG signals from the human body requires a professional setup and complex post-signal processing and may cause side effects to the subject’s body. This paper focuses on two prominent areas: it provides an in-depth analysis of the EMG signal characteristics, and a detailed discussion of the research and development of the hardware for a contactless EMG biosensor. This study provides an extensive review and performance comparison on the capacitive EMG sensors developed by different researchers. It also presents guidelines and parameters for future researchers to comply with in developing a practical and rugged contactless EMG biosensor.