S2 Week 17

This is the last academic week before Aidilfitri break. For this week, I continued on the writing of my final report for completing the FYP2 course. Here, I would like to give my utmost gratitude and respect to my supervisor, Dr. Ahmad Sabry bin Mohamad. For 2 semesters under his tutelage, I have gained a lot of knowledge from him. He also showed a lot of patience to his students knowing that we are just undergraduates doing our best to complete a project. Thank you very much.

S2 Week 16

This week is the Industrial Day week. On this week, I made the final testings just in case and prepared the testing videos just in case the device malfunctions during presentation. I was advised to do this by senior students that have undergone their FYP2 course. Below is my final testing.

Alhamdulillah, I have presented and was able to answer all the questions asked to me by the assessors. The first to assess were 2 guests from industry. They both looked enthusiast by my project. The second assessor was a lecturer from UniKL BMI. She gave some suggestions on how she viewed my project, but nevertheless, I was able to answer her questions. 

S2 Week 15

For this week, it is filled with preparing the device for presentation and creating a poster for industrial day. Firstly, I would like to show the final product.

This is the result on the smartphone interface and the LCD display when connected. 

My poster for industrial day.

The poster clearly showed the whole flow of the project and explained in a simple way how the device works. 

S2 Week 14

On this week, I started on the full testing of my project. I chose a colleague that was healthy and tested on him. The subject muscle would be the biceps as the maximum voluntary contraction would give a high amplitude. The video can be found below :

First full testing video.

S2 Week 13

In this week, there was another briefing for Presentation Skills for Project Demonstration. It was presented by Mr. Zulhilmi bin Mustaffa. The briefing was great as it will prepare the students for the upcoming FYP2 presentation on Industrial Day. The date was set at 14.6.2017 which is week 6.

I tweaked the parameters for my coding to start recording the maximum value of the EMG signal after 2.75 mV. I did this as when the device is connected and the patient is at rest, the signal output would idle at around 1.5 mV. The testing muscle would be the biceps.

The Parameter coding.

S2 Week 12

In this week, I am going to show the coding used in my project.

Coding of my project.

For my software, I used 3 libraries, 

#include <Wire.h>  

#include <LiquidCrystal_I2C.h>

#include <SoftwareSerial.h>

Afterwards I set the I2C LCD display. Then, I set the Arduino to scan for analog input from the sensor. The HC 06 was used to interface any command to the smartphone. I am still in the testing phase and would like to set better parameters for gauging the signal from the sensor.

S2 Week 11

In this week, I started on the assembly of my device. Unfortunately, the phone that was used to record the assembly process malfunctioned and the data was lost. Nevertheless, I will tell of the process here.

1. I begin by assembling the device by having the Arduino Uno as the center.
2. Connected the pins from the AD8232 sensor to the respective pin on the Arduino.
3. Connected the I2C LCD to the Arduino.
4. Connected the HC06 bluetooth to the Arduino.
5. Connected the USB power line from the Arduino to a laptop.
6. Verified all components are working and light up.

Next step is the software part of the project. It will involve using the Arduino Sketch software can be downloaded here.

S2 Week 10

In this week, I finished buying the components necessary for my project and can start assembling the device. Here is the list of the items :

Arduino Uno : RM 55
AD8232 Heart Monitor (secondhand) : RM 80
Electrode with 3.5mm Jack : RM 20
EMG Pads (20) : RM 40
Case : RM 10
Jumper : RM 10
HC 06 Bluetooth Module : RM 25
I2C LCD : RM 25

Total : RM 265

I managed to save more than half of the original estimated budget. This is largely due to the inflated pricing from myduino website and the swaping of the sensor. After the midterm break, I will start assembling and code my project.

S2 Week 9

For this week, i have found out an open source app that can be used with Arduino and HC06 bluetooth. This app is free to download from the Android Playstore. The app is titled Bluetooth Electronics by Keuwlsoft.

Bluetooth Electronics

This app is free to download and open sourced. The link to the website is here. There is also a user guide stated in the website. Basically, this app connects to the bluetooth module and acts both as a master and a slave to the module. The user can set the input and output of the device to the various modules in the app. 

S2 Week 8

On this week, i would like to update on the bluetooth module, HC 06, and why i choose it. It's features are :

HC 06 Bluetooth module

Wireless transceiver

• Sensitivity (Bit error rate) can reach -80dBm.
• The change range of output’s power: -4 - +6dBm.

Function description (perfect Bluetooth solution)

• Has an EDR module; and the change range of modulation depth: 2Mbps - 3Mbps.
• Has a build-in 2.4GHz antenna; user needn’t test antenna.
• Has the external 8Mbit FLASH
• Can work at the low voltage (3.1V~4.2V). The current in pairing is in the range of 30～40mA.
• The current in communication is 8mA.
• Standard HCI Port (UART or USB)
• USB Protocol: Full Speed USB1.1, Compliant With 2.0
• This module can be used in the SMD.
• It’s made through RoHS process.
• The board PIN is half hole size.
• Has a 2.4GHz digital wireless transceiver.
• Bases at CSR BC04 Bluetooth technology.
• Has the function of adaptive frequency hopping.
• Small (27mm×13mm×2mm)
• Peripherals circuit is simple.
• It’s at the Bluetooth class 2 power level.
• Storage temperature range: -40 ℃ - 85℃，work temperature range: -25 ℃ - +75℃
• Any wave inter Interference: 2.4MHz，the power of emitting: 3 dBm.
• Bit error rate: 0. Only the signal decays at the transmission link, bit error may be produced. For example, when RS232 or TTL is being processed, some signals may decay.

Low power consumption
Has high-performance wireless transceiver system
Low Cost

The reason i choose to interface my project with bluetooth, because every smartphone has bluetooth connectivity. The purpose of the project is to apply it as a smart device. As such, smartphones are perfect. The HC 06 is also the standard bluetooth module for small projects.

S2 Week 7

On this week, I had attended the 3rd FYP2 briefing for the semester. It was presented by Dr. Kanendra Naidu. This briefing focused on Methodology and Results & Discussion Writing for FYP Report. With this briefing, the whole report can now the written by all students.

The methodology part consisted of:
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Main Body (block diagram, flowchart, components, coding etc.)
3.3 Verification (verify the processes used)

The result and discussion would consist of:
4.1 Result diagrams
4.2 Graphs
4.3 Charts
4.4 Analysis

Chapter 3 and 4 are highly subjective and will be very different for each individual projects. As such, the briefing was very broad.

S2 Week 6

For this week, I would like to update on the components since last time, the budget was too high. I contacted a senior student and managed to replace some parts that was very high in price. I decided to replace the Myoware muscle sensor with an AD8232 Heart Rate monitor.

AD8232 Heart rate monitor

This sensor is actually usable for finding EMG signals. This is confirmed by my contact. I choose this sensor because my contact is willing to sell to me cheaper with the jack for electrodes. It costed me RM 100 only. 

A little bit of info on the sensor: 

Features and Benefits

• Fully integrated single-lead ECG front end
• Low supply current: 170 μA (typical)
• Common-mode rejection ratio: 80 dB (dc to 60 Hz)
• Two or three electrode configurations
• High signal gain (G = 100) with dc blocking capabilities
• 2-pole adjustable high-pass filter
• Accepts up to ±300 mV of half cell potential
• Fast restore feature improves filter settling
• Uncommitted op amp
• 3-pole adjustable low-pass filter with adjustable gain
• Leads off detection: ac or dc options
• Integrated right leg drive (RLD) amplifier
• Single-supply operation: 2.0 V to 3.5 V
• Integrated reference buffer generates virtual ground
• Rail-to-rail output
• Internal RFI filter
• 8 kV HBM ESD rating
• Shutdown pin
• 20-lead 4 mm × 4 mm LFCSP package

S2 Week 5

On this week, there was another FYP2 briefing. This is the second briefing and it focuses on the introduction and literature review writing for the final report. It was presented by Dr. Siti Marwangi. The introduction part will consist of :
1.1 Background of the project
1.2 Problem statement
1.3 Objectives
1.4 Significance
1.5 Scopes and limitations
1.6 Chapter summary

The literature review consist of :
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Overview
2.3 Related Theories
2.4 Previous works
2.5 Chapter summary

Overall the briefing was very beneficial in to better understand how report writing works.

S2 Week 4

For this week, i started to browse the needed parts to be purchased online. (myduino.com)
here are the list of components that i have browsed:
1. Arduino Uno R3 : RM 100
2. HC06 SERIAL BLUETOOTH : RM 40
3. MyoWare Muscle Sensor : RM 265
4. Jumper Wires (Female/Male) : RM 25
5. I2C LCD1602 Module : RM 26
6. EMG Electrode pad * 20 pads : RM 80
7. Plastic Case : RM 15

Total estimated cost : RM 551

As you can see, this budget is very high, especially for a student. as such, i will revise on the prices and search for other sources for cheaper prices.

S2 Week 3

For this week, all fyp2 students need to attend the first briefing. In this briefing, the deadlines are all laid out for us. The industrial day will be done on week 15. The draft for the report are also should be submitted before industrial day. Regarding the constrictions on my project, its seems that i can justify it on the future recommendations part during my presentation.

S2 Week 2

This week i discussed with my supervisor on my project. Due to the complexity of the project, i have my doubts on completing and produce a working prototype. My supervisor, Dr Sabry advised me to take my time and research more. I will take his advice and study more.

S2 Week 1

This is the first week of the second semester for this project. I have just finished my break and are entering a new semester. This semester will also be longer as it will consists of 18 weeks. As such, there is more time for my project to be developed.

Week 14

This is the final week for this semester and is the week for the submission of the proposal. In this week, all of the work for FYP1 are done. I had submitted the proposal on time. I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Ahmad Sabry Bin Mohamad for guiding me and accepting me as a student under him. Many thanks to my friends who helped me a lot for this project. Thank You.

Week 13

This week is the week for finalizing the proposal report for this subject. All the details for this project should be included into the proposal. Below is the abstract for the proposal.

"Pre-diagnostic nerve health using smart electromyography device is a device that can be used to diagnose nerve injury in patients with suspected neuropathy. Currently, nerve injury can only be diagnosed in hospitals and medical institution. It also uses invasive method and current EMG devices cost a lot of money. This project will aim on designing a device that can diagnose nerve injury, user friendly, portable, affordable and can be used with a smartphone. This device will use MyoWare EMG module, Arduino microcontroller and HC-06 bluetooth module. All of the components will interface with the smartphone. The output of the device is the EMG signal which will be sent to the smartphone via Bluetooth. The output will also contain recommendation whether to seek medical aid or not."

The normal values that are mentioned in the proposal and slide are:

These normal values are estimates and signals that come close to theses values are considered to be normal.