EMG based rehabilitation systems - approaches for ALS patients in different stages

For the patients suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), they are encouraged to exercise their bodies routinely to prevent or delay the paralysis of muscles. This work proposes an electromyogram (EMG) based ALS rehabilitation system via playing computer games. The multi-channel EMG measuring system and the controlled interfaces to computer games were developed. According to the symptoms of disability, the controls from different muscles are designed. For ALS patients in the early stage, the EMG electrodes were placed on the forearm to detect the finger gestures; for ALS patients in the middle stage, the EMG signals of upper extremity were employed to detect the hand gestures and arm moving; for the late ALS stage, the EMG electrodes were placed on chin to detect the facial expression. A commercial video game as well as a self-modified computer game are utilized in our rehabilitation systems. We believe that the patients are more preferable to exercise their bodies in a form of entertainment.