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Physiological Signal Processing Primer: Thought Technology LTD

This document provides an overview of physiological signal processing for EMG bio-potential signals. It discusses how raw EMG signals are represented in both the time domain (through raw and RMS displays) and frequency domain. It also describes common signal processing techniques like filtering that are used to remove noise and focus on relevant frequency bands. Filtering must balance removing artifact while retaining important muscle activation frequencies visible during contractions.

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Jeff Robert
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45 views5 pages

Physiological Signal Processing Primer: Thought Technology LTD

This document provides an overview of physiological signal processing for EMG bio-potential signals. It discusses how raw EMG signals are represented in both the time domain (through raw and RMS displays) and frequency domain. It also describes common signal processing techniques like filtering that are used to remove noise and focus on relevant frequency bands. Filtering must balance removing artifact while retaining important muscle activation frequencies visible during contractions.

Uploaded by

Jeff Robert
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Thought Technology Ltd.

Tech Note 024

Physiological Signal Processing Primer


This document is intended to provide the user with some background information on the
methods employed in representing bio-potential signals, such as EMG and EEG. For the
purpose of this doc we will focus on an EMG bio-potential signal, as EMG and EEG biopotential signals are similar. Signal processing is sometimes considered as a speed bump
on the road to advance biofeedback, however it shouldnt be viewed as an obstacle.
BioGraph Infiniti packages these processes into its channel sets making in-depth
comprehensions of the issues optional for effective biofeedback therapy. However if you
intend to design channel sets and screens it is essential to be familiar with these techniques.
RAW bio-potential signals
The RAW information from the subject is a collection of positive and negative electrical
signals, their frequency (how often they occur), and their amplitude give us information
on the contraction or rest state of the muscle. A RAW EMG signal can be seen in fig 1.

Fig 1.
In the raw graph the X axis displays time and the Y axis displays amplitude in V(microVolts), both positive and negative about the axis which is zero. This 3 second sample of
data has an amplitude of 400V. As the subject contracts the muscle the number and
amplitude of the lines increases, as the muscle relaxes it decrease. As the muscle fatigues
the number or frequency of the firings will decrease.
RMS
RMS or Root Mean Square is a technique for rectifying the RAW signal and converting it
to an amplitude envelope, which is easier to view, to make it easier to view. The
rectification process converts all the numbers into positive values rather than positive and
negative. The RMS graph of the same 3 seconds of signal is shown below in Fig 2.

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Thought Technology Ltd.

Tech Note 024

Frequency Domain
The signal can also be represented in the frequency domain. The RAW and RMS
displays are both representations of the signal in the time domain. The signal is
comprised of many electrical firings, these firings occur at different rates, the overall
signal that we view in the time domain is a composite of these multiple frequencies.
Frequency is measured in Hertz ( Hz ) and is the number of events ( in this case firings)
per second.
For EMG for example we are interested in frequencies between 0 500Hz, for EEG
frequencies from 0 60Hz. It is possible to display and represent the signal in its
frequency domain by separating out the individual frequencies. The RAW signal is
converted into the frequency domain by passing all the data points through a Fast Fourier
Transform calculation (FFT), this mathematically isolates each of the frequency bands.
The signal that we have viewed in RAW and RMS representations is displayed in fig 3.
in the frequency domain.

Fig 3
The X axis displays frequency in Hz, the Y axis displays relative amplitude. Different
information can be gathered from the frequency domain that is not available as readily
from the time domain such as muscle fatigue. As a muscle fatigues the frequency of
firings decrease but the total amplitude in the time domain can remain constant. Two
important measures are the Peak Frequency displayed in Fig 3 by the green bar, and the
Median Frequency denoted by the red bar.

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Thought Technology Ltd.

Tech Note 024

Filtering
Filtering of the signal is important; it is used to focus on a narrow band of electrical energy
that is of interest to us rather than all the electrical signals that the sensors will pick up. It
enables us to remove noise and artifact such as that commonly found at 50 or 60 Hz that are
not relevant to our studies. 50/60Hz energy is used to transport electrical energy and is
emitted into the recording environment by devices such as florescent lights , computer power
supplies etc. Primarily EMG signals occur within the range of 0 500Hz, however artifact
can be introduced at the low frequency end of this range by sources such as the heart and
electrical equipment. Fig 4. Shows a resting EMG signal being filtered in different ways,
displayed in RMS. This EMG signal was measured in close proximity to the heart, the
hearts electrical activity can clearly be seen as spikes in activity approximately every
second. To remove the artifact from the signal we filter the signal through a band pass filter,
in the case of the BioGraph Infiniti software it is an IIR filter algorithm. We set this filter to
pass or include the signal between two frequencies also referred to as a band of frequencies.
The choice of the band should be a cautious one as it is a trade off between over filtering and
under filtering the signal. In Fig 4. the signal without any filtering is affected most by the
artifact, and the one filtered from 100 500 Hz the least.

Fig 4.
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Thought Technology Ltd.

Tech Note 024

Fig 5.
As we can see from Fig 5. and its accompanying frequency display Fig 6. When
muscles contract there are a range of frequencies as can be seen in Fig 6. Some
frequencies are more active than others; this can be seen by higher amplitudes in these
areas, designated by brighter colors. It is clearly seen that most of the activity is below
100Hz. Above 200Hz there
is little activity. This
highlights the problem of
over filtering the signal to
remove all the artifact and
noise. As we remove more
of the signal at the bottom
end we see that our filtered
RMS signal decreases in
amplitude during the
contraction, from 40V to
20V. Filtering should be
selected based on electrode
placement and purpose of
the recording.
Fig 6.
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Thought Technology Ltd.

Tech Note 024

Glossary
Artifact Unwanted information contained within a signal
Band pass filter Filter that excludes signals information below and above specified
band of frequencies.
Bio-potential - Electrical signals emitted by the body.
EEG Electroencephalography, electrical signals emitted by the brain.
EMG - Electromyography, electrical signals emitted by the muscles.
EKG - Electrocardiogram
FFT (Fast Fourier Transform calculation) Mathematical method of translating a signal
from the time to frequency domain.
Frequency Measured in Hertz (Hz) how often something occurs with in a second.
High pass filter Filter that excludes signal information below specified frequency.
IIR filter Infinite Impulse Response filter, configured as a bandpass, highpass or
lowpass.
Low pass filter Filter that excludes signals information above a specified frequency.
Notch filter A filter that excludes a small band of frequencies.
RAW- A signal in its raw un-rectified state
Rectification conversion of a bi-polar signal into a uni-polar signal.
RMS or Root Mean Square A method of rectifying a RAW signal.

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