Magnetomyography shows potential in prosthetics and wearables

The EU-funded MAGNABLE project could enable future generations of prosthetic limbs to respond directly to instructions from users’ muscles.

According to the University, it could also enable improved control of digital spaces, removing the need for handheld controllers in virtual or extended reality in favour of wearable devices.  

Over the next two years, the MAGNABLE team will work to develop a new human-machine interface which can produce high-resolution, low-noise scans of muscle activity by measuring muscles’ magnetic fields.

Currently, the most widely used method of monitoring muscle activity is electromyography (EMG), which takes its readings from electrodes placed on the skin.

The sensitivity of those readings are limited by the need to read the signals through muscle and skin, which dampens the clarity of the signal. That limitation makes It difficult for EMG to be used in human-machine interface devices like prosthetics.

One proposed solution is to surgically implant EMG sensors directly into muscle tissue to improve their ability to detect signals, but this kind of implantation carries risks of infection.