Texas A&M University TC Thundermouse EMG Device

[TC_Thundermouse]

Contact Information

University: Texas A&M University

Team Members (with year of graduation): Thomas Aliberti, Shelby Bieritz, Chris Chilton, Chris Ramirez, Adam Shonebarger; 2013 May for all

Faculty Advisers: Dr. Applegate

Email Address: bmendesign@gmail.com

Submission Language: English

Project Information

Title: TC Thundermouse Wireless Surface EMG Device

Description:

<The Device acts as a wireless surface EMG and records the electrical activity of the muscle and transmits the data to a computer enabled with LabView; To be used in sports medicine and physical therapy applications (specifically with swimmers.>

Products

<NI Labview 2012-2013 Student Edition; >

<Arduinio Mini Pro 3.3V; Xbee wireless chip and adapter kit; custom printed circuit board; 3D printed ABS plastic shell; Permanent electrodes; laptop equipped with LabView>

The Challenge

<Create a wireless surface EMG device cheaper than other comparable devices with statistically similar results while in use in a marine environment.>

The Solution

<A sensor uses two electrodes to detect the electrical activity of a muscle. This data is filtered via an analog second order band pass filter to remove noise from the signal. This data is then transmitted to a computer and then stored/displayed for analysis.>

<For more detailed explanation, see attached report. >

<LabView was used to process data, remove additional noise, and for data analysis (In regards to software). Additionally, LabView devices and software were used for testing and prototyping. This includes using the NI Elvis 2+ breadboard to design the circuit. The team needed to use another vendor for wireless transmission of data. However, the components used from this vendor were known to interface well with LabView software and met the team’s needs (The primary reasons for their inclusion in the design).

<The prototype is beta stages as this was our senior design project and all we able to complete within the allotted time.>

<The team spent the first semester conducting research and designing preliminary versions of the device on paper. The building of the prototype sensor took approximately three and a half months to reach its current stage. The ultimate goal is to have between twelve to sixteen sensors that all transmit simultaneously.>

< Although the team was able to get multiple components for one sensor working, the team needs to integrate all components into a compact prototype. >