Built-In Self-Testing Methodology and Infrastructure for an EMG Monitoring Sensor Module

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2014

Authors

António Salazar (Author) FEUP; José Machado Da Silva (Author) FEUP; Miguel Velhote Correia (Author) FEUP

Journal

Title: International Journal on Advances in Systems and Measurements

Vol. 7 No. 1&2

Pages: 68-79

ISSN: 1942-261x

Publisher: nternational Academy, Research and Industry Association (IARIA)

Indexing

Scopus

Scientific classification

FOS: Engineering and technology > Electrical engineering, Electronic engineering, Information engineering

CORDIS: Technological sciences > Engineering > Biomedical enginnering

Other information

Abstract (EN): Wearable technologies provide a refinement to personal monitoring by permitting a long-term on-person approach for capturing physiological signals. Sensors, textile integration, electronics miniaturization and other technological developments are directly responsible for advancements in this domain. However, in spite of the present progress, there are still a number of obstacles to overcome for truly achieving seamless wearable monitoring technology. That concerns, namely, improvements on the reliability of the system at the design stage, including the adoption of built-in self-test and embedded test instruments, features able to detect functional and structural failures. Biopotential monitoring has been part of medicine and rehabilitation protocols for decades now, thus its integration within wearable systems is a natural progression; nonetheless, a number of factors can affect acquisition reliability such as electrode-skin impedance fluctuations and the malfunction of the data-acquisition circuits. This article presents a built-in selftesting approach for an electromyography data acquisition unit, part of a wearable gait monitoring system. The approach makes use of the inter-integrated circuit bus in a dual purpose role, as a communication bus and for stimuli and test response propagation. The targeted tests are electrode-skin impedance checking through a straightforward threshold strategy and detection of functional deviations of the signal conditioning circuit of the electromyography unit, through a digital signature based approach.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

Notes: 2014, © Copyright by authors, Published under agreement with IARIA - www.iaria.org International Journal on Advances in Systems and Measurements, vol 7 no 1 & 2, year 2014, http://www.iariajournals.org/systems_and_measurements/ http://www.thinkmind.org/index.php?view=article&articleid=sysmea_v7_n12_2014_7