MAGNetic sensing microsystem for InjectABLE magnetomyography

尽管经过了几十年的研究，但对于控制灵巧假肢的直观和生理上合适的人机界面(HMI)的探索还远远没有完成。到目前为止，世界各地的研究人员的焦点都集中在利用骨骼肌肉产生的电场来进行人机交互。近年来，研究的重点转移到了对肌肉纤维中离子电流产生的磁场的测量上，即所谓的肌磁图(MMG)。由于磁场不受组织的体积传导特性的影响，MMG具有以高空间分辨率提供关于肌肉收缩的附加信息的潜力。目前用于MMG记录的传感系统信噪比较低，且受地磁场和周围环境背景噪声的影响较大。为了解决这一问题，该项目探索了一种使用磁性传感器进行MMG记录的坚固和高灵敏度的传感微系统的开发。它将开发一种具有背景校准和自动编程灵敏度的信号调理单元，以有效补偿不需要的磁场的影响。此外，将展示一种用于MMG记录的概念验证原型，其横截面为亚毫米，适合使用导管在肌肉表面注射。这个项目非常及时，因为人机界面的发展是一个新兴领域，对未来的期望非常大。

Despite several decades of research, the quest for an intuitive and physiologically appropriate human-machine interface (HMI) for the control of dexterous prostheses is far from being completed. The focus of the researchers around the world so far is on use of "Electric field" generated by the skeleton muscles for HMI. Recently, focus of the research is shifted toward measurement of "Magnetic field" generated by the ionic current flowing in muscle fiber - called as Magnetomyogram (MMG). The MMG has the potential to provide additional information about the muscle contraction with high spatial resolution since the magnetic field is not affected by the volume conductive property of tissues. The current sensing systems for MMG recording suffers from poor SNR and highly affected by the earth magnetic field and background noises in the surrounding environment. To address this, this project explores the development of a robust and highly sensitive sensing microsystem for MMG recording using magnetic sensors. It will develop a signal conditioning unit with background calibration and auto-programmable sensitivity to effectively compensate the effects of undesirable magnetic field. In addition, a proof-of-concept prototype will be demonstrated for MMG recording with a sub-millimetric cross-section suitable for injecting at the surface of the muscles using a catheter. The project is extremely timely because the development of HMI is an emerging field with very promising expectations in the future.