Motor control

Motion (physics)

Robot

Forearm

Engineering

Neuroscience

Biomechanics

Systems engineering

Computer science

Activities of daily living

Hand muscles

Rehabilitation

Psychology

Task (project management)

Anatomy

Physical therapy

Robotics

Artificial intelligence

Medicine

Physical medicine and rehabilitation

Human–computer interaction

Electromyography

Sensors

The role of the hand is crucial for the performance of activities of daily living, thereby ensuring a full and autonomous life. Its motion is controlled by a complex musculoskeletal system of approximately 38 muscles. Therefore, measuring and interpreting the muscle activation signals that drive hand motion is of great importance in many scientific domains, such as neuroscience, rehabilitation, physiotherapy, robotics, prosthetics, and biomechanics. Electromyography (EMG) can be used to carry out the neuromuscular characterization, but it is cumbersome because of the complexity of the musculoskeletal system of the forearm and hand. This paper reviews the main studies in which EMG has been applied to characterize the muscle activity of the forearm and hand during activities of daily living, with special attention to muscle synergies, which are thought to be used by the nervous system to simplify the control of the numerous muscles by actuating them in task-relevant subgroups. The state of the art of the current results are presented, which may help to guide and foster progress in many scientific domains. Furthermore, the most important challenges and open issues are identified in order to achieve a better understanding of human hand behavior, improve rehabilitation protocols, more intuitive control of prostheses, and more realistic biomechanical models.

A Systematic Review of EMG Applications for the Characterization of Forearm and Hand Muscle Activity during Activities of Daily Living: Results, Challenges, and Open Issues