small area EMG Electrodes?

marcwolfmarcwolf
edited July 2015 in Electrodes

Hi Folks.

Now I have managed to get some very small electrodes suitable for EEG - like the electrodes that once gets with the OpenBCI board. However when trying to pick up EMG signals  on fairly small muscles their surface area is too large.

I don't want to stick needles into me however - would something like the rounded point of a drawing pin work as an electrode for these muscles.

The Frontalis muscle is large so I have no problems but when one is trying to pick up activity of the Corragator,Procerus etc there is not much area to work on.

Any suggestions?

Many thanks
Dave

Comments

  • JakeStewJakeStew
    You might try something called a "pogo pin".  Sometimes they are also called a "spring test probe".  You can find them on ebay for next to nothing.  They come in a variety of qualities and tip sizes/styles.  Many of them are very small.

    Basically they are a spring loaded test probe, kind of like a pogo stick.  There is a cylinder with a gold plated spring inside which presses on the contact pin.  This might keep good solid contact on such a small area, or it might cause motion artifacts and problems from any extra resistance.

    I'm sure some people here can comment on the electrical aspects that might make them more or less suitable, but I suspect that we won't know for sure until someone tries them.
    Here's a pic...
    image
  • marcwolfmarcwolf

    Many thanks.
    I have ordered some from EBay.  I noticed that you could also get different pin tips so I have ordered some (crown point) that will grip into the skin a little better than a rounded end.

    Many thanks for the advice.

    Dave

  • JakeStewJakeStew
    Please post back to let us know how they work out!  If they work well this might just be something that will work well for some applications.
    I suggested the round tips because from my experience with larger size pogo pins the spring tension was fairly significant, so I'm not sure how hard you want sharp objects pressing against your skin/scalp.  I assume that smaller size pins will have less tension though.
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