Calibration of Dynamic Hand-Wrist EMG-Force Models using a Minimum Number of Electrodes

EMG-force models are used in many areas, including: prosthesis control [1, 2] (to command the direction and speed of movement), clinical biomechanics [3, 4] (to assess healthy muscle timing and effort levels), and ergonomics analysis [5, 6] (to assess risk of injury). Advanced EMG-force models incorporate subject-specific and task-specific dynamics, and are calibrated from contractions with time durations of upwards of 1-2 minutes. For various models, we studied EMG-force estimation error vs. calibration duration for two degree-of-freedom (2-DoF) hand-wrist contractions. We also studied the role of number of electrodes on EMG-force estimation error. Reducing the calibration duration and/or number of electrodes makes EMG-force modeling more accessible, by reducing task time and equipment cost.