ECG artifact cancellation in surface EMG signals by fractional order calculus application

•Median filter outperforms moving average filter for ECG artifact cancellation in surface EMG envelope.•Prior fractional order derivative application to EMG signal enhances further median filter performance.•Fractional order derivative of 0.9 order with median filter is suitable for ECG interference cancellation in EMG signal.•Quantitative and qualitative parameters for evaluation of both median and moving average filters with prior fractional order calculus application confirmed the above stated results.