Facial Muscle Mapping and Expression Prediction using a Conformal Surface-Electromyography Platform

Facial Muscle Mapping and Expression Prediction using a Conformal Surface-Electromyography Platform | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Facial Muscle Mapping and Expression Prediction using a Conformal Surface-Electromyography Platform Yael Hanein, Hila Man, Paul Funk, Orlando Guntinas-Lichius, Bara Levit, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5614024/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 16 Jul, 2025 Read the published version in npj Flexible Electronics → Version 1 posted 10 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Facial muscles are unique in their attachment to the skin, dense innervation, and complex co-activation patterns, enabling fine motor control in various physiological tasks. Facial surface Electromyography (sEMG) is a valuable tool for assessing muscle function, yet traditional setups remain restrictive, requiring meticulous electrode placement and limiting mobility due to susceptibility to mechanical artifacts. Additionally, sEMG signal extraction is hindered by noise and cross-talk from adjacent muscles. Owing to these limitations, associating facial muscle activity with facial expressions has been challenging. Here, we leverage a novel 16-channel conformal sEMG system to extract meaningful electrophysiological data. By applying denoising and source separation techniques, we separated data from 32 healthy participants into independent sources and clustered them based on spatial distribution to create a facial muscle Atlas. Furthermore, we established a functional mapping between these clusters and specific muscle units, providing a comprehensive framework for understanding facial muscle activation patterns. Using this foundation, we demonstrated a participant-specific deep-learning model capable of predicting facial expressions from sEMG signals. This novel approach opens new avenues for facial muscle monitoring, with potential applications in rehabilitation in the medicine and psychological fields, where a precise understanding of facial muscle functions is crucial. Physical sciences/Engineering/Electrical and electronic engineering Biological sciences/Biological techniques/Electrophysiology Full Text Additional Declarations Competing interest reported. Y.H. declares a financial interest in X-trodes Ltd, which developed the screen-printed electrode technology used in this paper. All other authors declare no competing financial or non-financial interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 16 Jul, 2025 Read the published version in npj Flexible Electronics → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Accepted 07 Jul, 2025 Reviews received at journal 26 Jun, 2025 Reviews received at journal 17 Jun, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 16 Jun, 2025 Reviews received at journal 16 Jun, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 16 Jun, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 16 Jun, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 16 Jun, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 06 May, 2025 First submitted to journal 27 Mar, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5614024","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":436685811,"identity":"46e768ef-937f-495d-81d3-65d4275088dc","order_by":0,"name":"Yael Hanein","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA9ElEQVRIie2PsWrDMBCGzxSSxYnXy9Cmj3Ala8izSAg0GZqx0NJoytiseY2+geAgXkK9CrLYBDwV6qlkKlWhLSUk8tpBHxzopPv4TwCRyP8kYYDp0Z2Yhx2vaPwe/VGoU+EjBQIKFWx5/lA+Zmu1weQwk6bPFVQhZasFrzc7RKcVgVDSpJqCi5HNidPeDsHlNxWIC2kgD/+FyreW048XHLvb1oJYSJO9diguBx4sLfpD4lNYGuxIGbmGePCkRs/bZkJCF5MlNmRDyrBU9T59n2VXhWqwnd5frjJV14e788q1/dsJXz1f9sTkL2MTeo1EIpHIF59BjVN/ZC8M4QAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Tel Aviv University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yael","middleName":"","lastName":"Hanein","suffix":""},{"id":436685812,"identity":"b85fcc5d-4b2d-44f2-b2b9-09dfb291f8fa","order_by":1,"name":"Hila Man","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Tel Aviv University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Hila","middleName":"","lastName":"Man","suffix":""},{"id":436685813,"identity":"a6d0553a-64a9-4f0f-add6-35a954440b17","order_by":2,"name":"Paul Funk","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Friedrich Schiller University Jena","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Paul","middleName":"","lastName":"Funk","suffix":""},{"id":436685814,"identity":"1cc2f74d-cccf-4aba-8f43-5a4e773f06f5","order_by":3,"name":"Orlando Guntinas-Lichius","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Friedrich Schiller University Jena","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Orlando","middleName":"","lastName":"Guntinas-Lichius","suffix":""},{"id":436685815,"identity":"f623ea03-c006-42d5-af88-48f70e8ba8bc","order_by":4,"name":"Bara Levit","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Tel Aviv University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Bara","middleName":"","lastName":"Levit","suffix":""},{"id":436685816,"identity":"064ffa04-998d-4d18-8406-e3614aa41ce7","order_by":5,"name":"Chen Bar-Haim","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Tel Aviv University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Chen","middleName":"","lastName":"Bar-Haim","suffix":""},{"id":436685817,"identity":"a001d92b-6cff-4331-9e79-438d8abcd012","order_by":6,"name":"Dvir Ben-Dov","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Tel Aviv University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Dvir","middleName":"","lastName":"Ben-Dov","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-12-10 07:23:23","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5614024/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5614024/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41528-025-00453-0","type":"published","date":"2025-07-16T15:57:19+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":87219337,"identity":"91c93568-f9b8-4fdf-bf9f-d8e41ec0dbec","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-07-21 16:03:51","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1595407,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"FacialAtlasClean.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5614024/v1_covered_b1a3659e-14c0-4117-98e4-02b5947508b0.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"Competing interest reported. 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