CONTENT

No. Content Page

1. Introduction of Project 2
2. Objective 3
3 List of Equipment and Material 4
4. Block Diagram 5
5. Result 6-10
6. Discussion 11-13
7. Conclusion 14

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 Introduction

For this subject, each group have given a task to construct a data acquisition
system to giving out the output of hand strength signal and muscular activity signal
for each member in a group.

Data acquisition (DAQ) is the process of measuring an electrical or physical

phenomenon such as voltage, current, temperature, pressure, or sound with a
computer. A DAQ system consists of sensors, DAQ measurement hardware, and a
computer with programmable software. Compared to traditional measurement
systems, PC-based DAQ systems exploit the processing power, productivity, display,
and connectivity capabilities of industry-standard computers providing a more
powerful, flexible, and cost-effective measurement solution. The measurement
hardware is constructed by using NI DAQ hardware that is NI ELVIS II board or NI
MyDAQ. For the programmable software, each group has been developed with NI
LabView graphical programming software.

There are two sensors that are used in this project to measure the grip
strength. One of it are, Vernier Hand Dynamometer. The Hand Dynamometer can be
used to measure grip strength or pinch strength and to perform muscle fatigue
studies. Using the appropriate data-collection hardware and software, we can graph,
record, calculate, and compare hand grip muscle fatigue rates. This sensor can be
used alone or in combination with other sensors for studies of muscular health and
activity. The dynamometer has a sensor that amplifies the applied force and converts
it into voltage. The output of force can be set in pounds(lbs.), kilograms(kg), or
Newtons(N). The device has an accuracy of +/-0.6 N and is set to perform within the
range of 0-600N.

For the second sensor, we used the ECG sensor. The muscular activity is
studied by placing the electrodes of ECG on the skin at forearm and record the
electrical activity of the muscles known as EMG. The sensor works by measuring a
summation of the action potentials that occurred while your muscle is being
stimulated. This sensor has an accuracy of +/-0.3 with an internal offset of 1V and
the gain of the ECG is set to amplify a 1mV measured potential to a 1V output.

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 Objective

The objective of the project is:

1. To construct a data acquisition system using NI DAQ hardware and LabVIEW

software to measure, display and record hand grip strength and muscular
activity (EMG) signals.
2. To describe and develop the measurement principle for hand grip strength
and muscular activity (EMG) by using the appropriate sensors such as ECG
sensor.
3. To describe and develop DAQ software using LabVIEW includes the function
of While Loop, DAQ Assistant, Case Structure and Ring, Formula Node and
Waveform chart.
4. To analyze the acquired data from both signals during performing certain hand
exercises to obtain the signal relationship between the maximum force from
dominant or non-dominant hand and the muscle fatigue over time

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 List of Equipment and Material

No Equipment and Material Unit

.
1. NI MyDAQ / ELVIS II 1
2. Vernier Hand Dynamometer 1
3. Vernier ECG Sensor 1
4. Vernier ECG Electrodes 3
5. Vernier Analog Proto Board Connector 2
6. Computer with NI LabVIEW 2012 -
7. Jumper Wire -

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 Block Diagram

Hand
Dynamometer

Analog NI ELVIS II/ Computer with

Proto-board MyDAQ LabVIEW GUI
ECG Sensor

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Figure 1: Hardware Setup in LabView

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 Result

Part 1: Dominant vs. Non-Dominant Hand

1. Student 1 (Syahmi)
a) Dominant

Maximum force (N) for Maximum force (N) for Maximum force (N) for max
normal grip 50% grip grip
5N 76N 280N

b) Non-Dominant

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Maximum force (N) for Maximum force (N) for Maximum force (N) for max
normal grip 50% grip grip
9N 60N 224N

2. Student 2 (Firdaus)
a) Dominant

Maximum force (N) for Maximum force (N) for Maximum force (N) for max
normal grip 50% grip grip
23N 60N 200N

b) Non-Dominant

Maximum force (N) for Maximum force (N) for Maximum force (N) for max
normal grip 50% grip grip
40N 84N 250N

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 Part 2: Muscle Fatigue over Time

Maximum
Student Maximum Force Maximum Force Maximum Force
Force for 40%
Name for 20% (N) for 60% (N) for 80% (N)
(N)
15 45 130 180

Syahmi

Maximum
Student Maximum Force Maximum Force Maximum Force
Force for 40%
Name for 20% (N) for 60% (N) for 80% (N)
(N)

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 2.5 2.5 145 250

Firdaus

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 Discussion

1. Explain the Development of DAQ software using LabVIEW by including

explanation about the function of following items:
Data acquisition involves gathering signals from measurement sources
and digitizing the signals for storage, analysis and presentation on a
PC. Data acquisition systems come in many different PC technology
forms to offer flexibility when choosing your system. You can choose
from PCI, PXI, PCI Express, PCMCIA, USB wireless and Ethernet data
acquisition for test, measurement, and automation applications.
Consider the following five components when building a basic data
acquisition system that are transducer and sensors, signal, signal
conditioning, DAQ hardware and Driver and application software.

a) While loop
A while loop is a control flow statement you use to execute a block of the
sub diagram code repeatedly until a given Boolean condition is met. First,
you execute the code within the sub diagram, and then the conditional
terminal is evaluated. Unlike a for loop, a while loop does not have a set
iteration count; thus, a while loop executes indefinitely if the condition
never occurs.

b) DAQ Assistant
DAQ Assistant is a graphical interface for interactively creating, editing,
and NI-DAQmx virtual channels and tasks. An NI-DAQmx virtual channel
consists of a physical channel on a DAQ device and the configuration
information for this physical channel, such as input range and custom
scaling. An NI-DAQmx task is a collection of virtual channels, timing and
triggering information, and other properties regarding the acquisition or
generation. In the following figure, DAQ Assistant is configured to perform
a finite strain measurement.

c) Case Structure and Ring

A Case structure has two or more sub diagrams, or cases.

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 Only one sub diagram is visible at a time, and the structure executes only
one case at a time. An input value determines which sub diagram
executes. The Case structure is similar to switch statements or
if...then...else statements in text-based programming languages.
The case selector label at the top of the Case structure contains the name
of the selector value that corresponds to the case in the center and
decrement and increment arrows on each side. Meanwhile, Ring controls
are very useful when dealing with case structure.

d) Formula Node
Formula Node is a convenient text-based node you can use to perform
mathematical operations on the block diagram. Formula Nodes are useful
for equations that have many variables or are otherwise complicated and
for using existing text-based code into a Formula Node rather than
recreating it graphically on the block diagram.

e) Waveform Chart
A waveform chart plots numeric data values on a chart. By default, the
vertical axis automatically scales itself to have the best minimum and
maximum for the data you are plotting. You can easily change the vertical
or horizontal scales by double-clicking the minimum or maximum values.

2. Refer to the hand dynamometer specification, explain the equations used for
measuring Force in different unit (newton, kilogram, pounds).

Newton: y =175.416*x-19.295
In equation for newton, x is torque in newton-meters

Kilogram: y =17.8875*x-1.9676
In equation for kilogram, x is torque in kg-meters

Pound: y=39.4315*x-4.3379
In equation for pounds, x is torque in pound-feet

3. Discuss the result in Table 1 in terms of:

a) Comparison between dominant and non-dominant hand strength
Dominant hand exerts more force on the hand dynamometer than
non-dominant hand.

b) Relationship between hand strength (Force) and grip condition (normal,

50%, max) for both dominant and non- dominant hand.

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 The hand strength is directly proportional to grip condition for both
dominant and non- dominant.

c) Relationship between hand strength(Force) to muscle signal.

The hand strength is directly proportional to muscle signal.

d) What are possible factors that causing difference in hand strength

between different student.
Each student has different muscle build. This is due to several factors
such as hand size. Grip strength is related to the ability to firmly grip
an object. As a result, hand size is a physiological factor of grip
strength. Someone with large hands and long fingers will generally
have greater grip strength than someone with smaller hands or shorter
fingers.
The strength in the forearms is a major factor contributing to the level
of grip strength. Grip strength can be improved through specific
resistance training exercises. Use a variety of dumbbell, kettlebell and
barbell exercises that force you to grip the bar and use the forearm
muscles to move the weight.
4. Referring to Table 2, Discuss the effect or repetitive hand grip exercise to the
hand strength and muscle condition.
As it is shown in result repetitive hand strength measurement cause
muscle fatigue the student to be unable to exert as much force than
earlier in the experiment

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 Conclusion

As the conclusion, we able to describe the measurement principle for hand

grip strength and muscular activity (EMG) using appropriate sensors. The sensor
within the hand dynamometer amplifies the applied force and converts it into a
voltage. The voltage reading can be calibrated with stored intercepts and slopes to
output the force in pounds(lbs.), Newton(N), or kilograms(kg). While using the ECG
sensor with hand dynamometer, it can be used to study muscular activity by placing
the electrodes of sensor on the skin of the forearm.
Other than that, we have learned and know how to construct a data
acquisition system using NI DAQ hardware and LabVIEW software to measure,
display and record hand grip strength and muscular activity (EMG) signals. The
development of DAQ software using LabVIEW includes the function of While Loop,
DAQ Assistant, Case Structure and Ring, Formula Node and Waveform chart.
Last but not least, we can analyze the acquired data from both signals during
performing certain hand exercises to obtain signal relationship between the
maximum force from dominant or non-dominant hand and the muscle fatigue over
time.
Lastly, given that we now have the knowledge to connect various sensors to
LabVIEW and how to use the software for displaying data, we can find opportunities
in the future when we become fill Biomedical Engineering to use this knowledge to
our advantage in the field if a scenario requires us to do as such.

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