Publicação
Simultaneous EMG and Muscle Deformation Monitoring through Ultrathin Electronic Patches
| Resumo: | Electromyography is a critical tool in gait rehabilitation, but its clinical application remains limited. A key challenge is that electromyography reflects only the electrical activity of muscles and does not directly capture their mechanical behaviour. Understanding actual muscle deformation is essential, as it provides a more complete understanding of muscle function. This dissertation aimed to develop an ultrathin, skin-conformal electronic patch capable of simultaneously monitoring muscle electrical activity and deformation. By leveraging advances in stretchable electronics, liquid metal-based composites, and digital fabrication, I designed, fabricated, and characterized thin-film patches with integrated soft electrodes and strain sensors that could adhere to the human epidermis and monitoring simultaneously muscle electrical activity and skin deformation. The project addressed three main challenges: fabricating a strain sensor that adheres reliably to the skin for muscle deformation monitoring; ensuring repeatability and fast response of the sensor when used over the human body; and achieving sufficient sensitivity and resolution to detect subtle epidermal deformations. Moreover, the dissertation addressed challenges in the fabrication space, and demonstrated materials and methods for development of epidermal patches for reliable signal acquisition. The resulting patches were validated against clinically approved electromyography, and motion capture system, and efficiently captured both electromyography signals and muscle deformation during a variety of conditions. These patches provide a versatile, non-invasive platform for real-time, multi-modal muscle monitoring, with significant implications for clinical gait analysis. |
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| Autores principais: | Félix, Ana Rita Carvalho |
| Assunto: | Electromyography Epidermal and Muscle Strain Sensing Epidermal Electronics Wearable Stretchable Bioelectronics Eletromiografia Deteção de Deformação Epidérmica e Muscular Eletrónica Epidérmica Bioeletrónica Vestível e Extensível |
| Ano: | 2025 |
| País: | Portugal |
| Tipo de documento: | dissertação de mestrado |
| Tipo de acesso: | acesso embargado |
| Instituição associada: | Universidade de Coimbra |
| Idioma: | inglês |
| Origem: | Estudo Geral - Universidade de Coimbra |
| Resumo: | Electromyography is a critical tool in gait rehabilitation, but its clinical application remains limited. A key challenge is that electromyography reflects only the electrical activity of muscles and does not directly capture their mechanical behaviour. Understanding actual muscle deformation is essential, as it provides a more complete understanding of muscle function. This dissertation aimed to develop an ultrathin, skin-conformal electronic patch capable of simultaneously monitoring muscle electrical activity and deformation. By leveraging advances in stretchable electronics, liquid metal-based composites, and digital fabrication, I designed, fabricated, and characterized thin-film patches with integrated soft electrodes and strain sensors that could adhere to the human epidermis and monitoring simultaneously muscle electrical activity and skin deformation. The project addressed three main challenges: fabricating a strain sensor that adheres reliably to the skin for muscle deformation monitoring; ensuring repeatability and fast response of the sensor when used over the human body; and achieving sufficient sensitivity and resolution to detect subtle epidermal deformations. Moreover, the dissertation addressed challenges in the fabrication space, and demonstrated materials and methods for development of epidermal patches for reliable signal acquisition. The resulting patches were validated against clinically approved electromyography, and motion capture system, and efficiently captured both electromyography signals and muscle deformation during a variety of conditions. These patches provide a versatile, non-invasive platform for real-time, multi-modal muscle monitoring, with significant implications for clinical gait analysis. |
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