SPM July 2021

This issue of IEEE Signal Processing Magazine is mainly focused on neurorehabilitation and assistive technologies. For a few decades, microelectronics, signal processing, robotics, and computer science have been the driver of many scientific and technological advances, with applications in many domains, including health.

This article reviews technologies and algorithms for decoding volitional movement intent using bioelectrical signals recorded from the human body. Such signals include electromyograms, electroencephalograms, electrocorticograms, intracortical recordings, and electroneurograms. After reviewing signal features commonly used for interpreting movement intent, this article describes traditional movement decoders based on Kalman filters (KFs) and machine learning (ML). 

Prostheses provide a means for individuals with amputations to regain some of the lost functions of their amputated limb. Human-machine interfaces (HMIs), used for controlling prosthetic devices, play a critical role in users' experiences with prostheses. This review article provides an overview of the HMIs commonly adopted for upper-limb prosthesis control and inspects collected signals and their processing methods.

During the last few decades, the number of seniors over the age of 60 has increased significantly. A recent study from the United Nations has shown that the number of people aged 65 years or over will increase from 727 million in 2020 to 1.5 billion by 2050. Consequently, the proportion of the global population aged 65 years or over will increase from 9.3% in 2020 to 16% in 2050.