Dec 17, 2025
  • Ines Rodrigues-Vaz1,2,3
  • 1Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Departments of Neuroscience and Neurology, Columbia University;
  • 2Champalimaud Neuroscience Programme, Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown;
  • 3Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP) Collaborative Research Network
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Protocol CitationInes Rodrigues-Vaz 2025. EMG fabrication. protocols.io https://dx.doi.org/10.17504/protocols.io.n2bvjekxpgk5/v1
License: This is an open access protocol distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License,  which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
Protocol status: Working
We use this protocol and it's working
Created: December 02, 2025
Last Modified: December 17, 2025
Protocol Integer ID: 233939
Keywords: ASAPCRN, emg fabrication, emg electrodes for bulk muscle recording, emg electrode, emg, bulk muscle recording, protocol for fabrication, fabrication
Funders Acknowledgements:
Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s
Grant ID: ASAP-020551
Abstract
This is the protocol for fabrication of EMG electrodes for bulk muscle recordings used for Rodrigues-Vaz and Athalye et al, 2025 and based on Akay et al, 2006.
Materials
• Manufacturing microscope
• Insulated braided stainless-steel wire
• Soldering wire
• Omnetics connector
• Small hypodermic needles
• Plier
Troubleshooting
EMG fabrication
Measure and cut two pieces of insulated braided stainless-wire.
Knott the two strands together and tape the strands onto the working surface. This prevents wires from unbraiding.
Strip 0.5 mm portions of insulation from each strand just below the knot so that exposed contact sites are separated by 0.5 mm. This is done under microscope using blade and forceps to avoid exposing wire.
Expose the end of the wires and insert them into hypodermic needles. Crimp needle with wires in place – the needle allows insertion of wire into the muscle.
The opposing ends will be labeled accordingly and soldered into corresponding site in a miniature omnetics connector.
Protocol references
Akay et al, 2006