Decoding hand movement from forearm EMG
We use forearm muscle recordings to estimate hand movement in real time, then investigate what the network learns.
Dr.-Ing. defence expected December 2026
Neural interfaces for hand control.
I build neural interfaces that turn muscle activity into control of virtual hands, orthoses and prostheses.
n-squared lab · FAUErlangen · Germany
TNSRE · 2023
The whole hand, in real time
More than 20 degrees of freedom decoded live from forearm EMG, with under 50 ms latency.
TNSRE · 2024
Control after spinal cord injury
98.3% mean accuracy across 8 attempted movements in 8 tetraplegic participants.
Science Advances · 2025
Open software for assistive devices
With MyoGestic, 7 participants controlled a virtual hand, an orthosis, a prosthesis and a cursor.
02 · Featured work
Research areas.
Three landmarks
Decoding spared muscle activity for assistive control
We train decoders with participants to turn spared muscle activity into control of assistive devices.
Simulating neural drive, muscle and EMG
MyoGen links models of neural drive, muscle and EMG, letting us test decoders against known simulated signals.
03 · Papers
Selected publications.
Click a paper to open it
I
Decoding hand kinematics from EMG
II
Filtering and learned representations
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320electrodes; best with all of them and no low-pass filtering
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22 DoFkinematics and force from 320 EMG sensors
III
Assistive control after injury or amputation
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98.3%mean accuracy across 8 attempted movements, 8 tetraplegic participants
IV
Biophysical simulation of neuromotor activity
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Cortex to EMGsimulation of neural drive, muscle force, and surface and intramuscular EMG
Twelve more, as co-author
- 2026Co-located ultrasound and tattoo-electrode sEMG for hand gesture decodingTillaeva et al. · IEEE CBS · in press
- 2026Physiological and pathological motor unit phenotypes coexist within single motor pools after cervical SCIRohlf et al. · preprint
- 2026MyoKin3X: a myoelectric framework for full-hand 3D force recordingRohleder et al. · IEEE CBS · Best Student Paper
- 2026Voluntary dissociation of motor unit activity in the vastii musclesHaller et al. · J. Neurosci.
- 2026Simultaneous control of human hand joint positions and grip force via HD-sEMG and deep learningRahimi et al. · IEEE Access
- 2025Closed-loop neuroprosthetic control through spared neural activity enables proportional foot movements after spinal cord injuryCnejevici et al. · arXiv
- 2024Bridging the gap between experimental control and ecological validity in human sensorimotor scienceTsay et al. · J. Physiol.
- 2024Analysis of embedded GPU architectures for AI in neuromuscular applicationsPfenning et al. · IJCSIS
- 2024Gaitmap: an open ecosystem for IMU-based human gait analysis and algorithm benchmarkingKüderle et al. · IEEE OJEMB
- 2023tpcp: tiny pipelines for complex problemsKüderle et al. · JOSS
- 2023Evaluation of GPU-centric embedded architectures in the field of neuromuscular EMG-based AIPfenning et al. · IADIS AC
- 2022A generalized framework for the study of spinal motor neurons controlling the human hand during dynamic movementsCakici et al. · IEEE EMBC
04 · Software
Research software.
Open source
05 · Tools
Smaller tools.
github.com/RaulSimpetru
Recording and tracking
LSL Recording Toolbox
Records several Lab Streaming Layer streams in sync to Zarr, with tools to manage and analyse the recordings.
Muovi LSL interface
Streams the OT Bioelettronica Muovi EMG device into Lab Streaming Layer in real time.
Sessantaquattro LSL interface
Streams the OT Bioelettronica Sessantaquattro into Lab Streaming Layer in real time.
napari-cotrack
Label keypoints on a few frames; CoTracker3 tracks them through the rest of the video.
Research workflow
Zotero Library MCP
Lets Claude, Codex and ChatGPT add papers and books to Zotero by DOI, arXiv ID or ISBN, and manage collections and tags.
Synology Site Hub
Live previews of every git branch of your websites, on your own Synology NAS behind its login.
GrantBridge
Watches German and EU funding calls, ranks them against a researcher’s confirmed capabilities and drafts project concepts.
Seatsurfing MCP
Book desks and rooms in Seatsurfing from Claude Code.
Netron Quick Look
Preview machine-learning model files in Finder with Netron: select one and press Space.
PDF Form Filler
Fills PDF forms with text and checkboxes so they render correctly in any viewer.
Doctoral researcher
n-squared lab, FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg
Dr.-Ing. defence expected December 2026
Invited professor
Kutaisi International University
Teaching neurocomputing, robotics, deep learning and DSP
Talks and recognition
TalkRecognition2023
Recognition
Young Talent Award, 3rd prize
DMEA
Talk
Selected oral talk
The Physiological Society
2024
Recognition
Featured Article
IEEE TBME
Talk
Oral talk
ISEK
2025
Talk
Rapid-fire talk
International Motoneuron Society
2026
Recognition
Best Student Paper, co-author
IEEE CBS
Expected · December
Dr.-Ing. defence
FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg
Before
- Research and teaching assistantFAU Erlangen-Nürnberg
- Research assistantFraunhofer IIS
Education
- Dr.-Ing. candidateFAU Erlangen-Nürnberg
- MSc and BSc Medical EngineeringFAU Erlangen-Nürnberg
Teaching
- Neurocomputing, robotics, deep learning, DSPKutaisi International University
- Seminars and thesis supervisionFAU Erlangen-Nürnberg