Graduation Year

2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

M.S.B.E.

Degree Name

MS in Biomedical Engineering (M.S.B.E.)

Degree Granting Department

Medical Engineering

Major Professor

Stephanie Carey, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Alex Otten, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Olukemi Akintewe, Ph.D.

Keywords

Embedded Systems, Musical Device, Rehabilitation, Signal Analysis, Surface Electromyography, Tactile Feedback

Abstract

Musician’s Dystonia (MD) is a condition that can be acquired in professional musicians,causing involuntary contractions and the loss of fine motor control. The most common pharmaceutical treatment, botulinum toxin injections, has been shown to have side effects of muscle weakness and atrophy. The sensory trick, shown to temporarily relieve symptoms of dystonia, has potential to be used as an alternative or alongside current therapies, allowing patients with MD to return to playing music professionally. To systematically deploy the sensory trick and monitor forearm muscle activity, the first prototype of the Wearable Sensorimotor Integrator (wSMI) has been developed.

The wSMI is a device designed to be portable, reusable, and usable without the need of an external device. The wSMI is partially constructed from a custom-made myoelectric sleeve and an L432KC STM32 development board, allowing for real-time sEMG collection and frequency analysis. The device also houses a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W, enabling data transfer between the myoelectric sleeve and a desired external device through Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Embedded in the myoelectric sleeve are vibro-tactile motors to provide tactile stimulus in response to dystonic activity detected through sEMG analysis.

Preliminary testing has been performed on the device to gauge its usability before testing on human subjects. Of the areas tested (hardware rigor, data streaming quality, dystonia detection algorithm), the wSMI shows promise in being a useful research tool for studying MD and the effects of an adaptive sensory trick.

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