Multipoint Surface Electromyography Measurement Using Bull's-eye Electrodes for Wide-area Topographic Analysis

Overview

Journal J Physiol Anthropol

Publisher Biomed Central

Specialty Social Sciences

Date 2023 Oct 27

PMID 37891686

Authors

Megumi Shimura

Akihiko Mizumoto

Yali Xia

Yoshihiro Shimomura

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Surface electromyography (sEMG) is primarily used to analyze individual and neighboring muscle activity. However, using a broader approach can enable simultaneous measurement of multiple muscles, which is essential for understanding muscular coordination. Using the "bull's-eye electrode," which allows bipolar derivation without directional dependence, enables wide-area multipoint sEMG measurements. This study aims to establish a multipoint measurement system and demonstrate its effectiveness and evaluates forearm fatigue and created topographic maps during a grasping task.

Methods: Nine healthy adults with no recent arm injuries or illnesses participated in this study. They performed grasping tasks using their dominant hand, while bull's-eye electrodes recorded their muscle activity. To validate the effectiveness of the system, we calculated the root mean squares of muscle activity and entropy, an indicator of muscle activity distribution, and compared them over time.

Results: The entropy analysis demonstrated a significant time-course effect with increased entropy over time, suggesting increased forearm muscle uniformity, which is possibly indicative of fatigue. Topographic maps visually displayed muscle activity, revealing notable intersubject variations.

Discussion: Bull's-eye electrodes facilitated the capture of nine homogeneous muscle activity points, enabling the creation of topographic images. The entropy increased progressively, suggesting an adaptive muscle coordination response to fatigue. Despite some limitations, such as inadequate measurement of the forearm muscles' belly, the system is an unconventional measurement method.

Conclusion: This study established a robust system for wide-area multipoint sEMG measurements using a bull's-eye electrode setup. This system effectively evaluates muscle fatigue and provides a comprehensive topographic view of muscle activity. These results mark a significant step towards developing a future multichannel sEMG system with enhanced measurement points and improved wearability.

Trial Registration: This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Chiba University Graduate School of Engineering (acceptance number: R4-12, Acceptance date: November 04, 2022).

References

Liu Y, Ning Y, He J, Li S, Zhou P, Zhang Y . Internal muscle activity imaging from multi-channel surface EMG recordings: a validation study. Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2015; 2014:3559-61. DOI: 10.1109/EMBC.2014.6944391. View

Masago R, Matsuda T, Kikuchi Y, Miyazaki Y, Iwanaga K, Harada H . Effects of inhalation of essential oils on EEG activity and sensory evaluation. J Physiol Anthropol Appl Human Sci. 2000; 19(1):35-42. DOI: 10.2114/jpa.19.35. View

Hagg G, Milerad E . Forearm extensor and flexor muscle exertion during simulated gripping work -- an electromyographic study. Clin Biomech (Bristol). 1997; 12(1):39-43. DOI: 10.1016/s0268-0033(96)00049-6. View

Del Vecchio A, Holobar A, Falla D, Felici F, Enoka R, Farina D . Tutorial: Analysis of motor unit discharge characteristics from high-density surface EMG signals. J Electromyogr Kinesiol. 2020; 53:102426. DOI: 10.1016/j.jelekin.2020.102426. View

Lehman G, McGill S . The importance of normalization in the interpretation of surface electromyography: a proof of principle. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 1999; 22(7):444-6. DOI: 10.1016/s0161-4754(99)70032-1. View

Dideriksen J, Negro F, Enoka R, Farina D . Motor unit recruitment strategies and muscle properties determine the influence of synaptic noise on force steadiness. J Neurophysiol. 2012; 107(12):3357-69. PMC: 3378401. DOI: 10.1152/jn.00938.2011. View

Nazmi N, Abdul Rahman M, Yamamoto S, Ahmad S, Zamzuri H, Mazlan S . A Review of Classification Techniques of EMG Signals during Isotonic and Isometric Contractions. Sensors (Basel). 2016; 16(8). PMC: 5017469. DOI: 10.3390/s16081304. View

Lee N, Kang H, Shin G . Use of antagonist muscle EMG in the assessment of neuromuscular health of the low back. J Physiol Anthropol. 2015; 34:18. PMC: 4416264. DOI: 10.1186/s40101-015-0055-5. View

Enoka R, Duchateau J . Muscle fatigue: what, why and how it influences muscle function. J Physiol. 2007; 586(1):11-23. PMC: 2375565. DOI: 10.1113/jphysiol.2007.139477. View

10.

Turpin N, Guevel A, Durand S, Hug F . Fatigue-related adaptations in muscle coordination during a cyclic exercise in humans. J Exp Biol. 2011; 214(Pt 19):3305-14. DOI: 10.1242/jeb.057133. View

11.

Bhullar H, Loudon G, Fothergill J, Jones N . Selective noninvasive electrode to study myoelectric signals. Med Biol Eng Comput. 1990; 28(6):581-6. DOI: 10.1007/BF02442611. View

12.

Masuda T, Sadoyama T . Topographical map of innervation zones within single motor units measured with a grid surface electrode. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng. 1988; 35(8):623-8. DOI: 10.1109/10.4595. View

13.

Ting L, McKay J . Neuromechanics of muscle synergies for posture and movement. Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2008; 17(6):622-8. PMC: 4350235. DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2008.01.002. View

14.

Rampichini S, Vieira T, Castiglioni P, Merati G . Complexity Analysis of Surface Electromyography for Assessing the Myoelectric Manifestation of Muscle Fatigue: A Review. Entropy (Basel). 2020; 22(5). PMC: 7517022. DOI: 10.3390/e22050529. View

15.

Kleine B, Schumann N, Stegeman D, Scholle H . Surface EMG mapping of the human trapezius muscle: the topography of monopolar and bipolar surface EMG amplitude and spectrum parameters at varied forces and in fatigue. Clin Neurophysiol. 2000; 111(4):686-93. DOI: 10.1016/s1388-2457(99)00306-5. View

16.

Xu T, Li X, Wang D, Zhang Y, Zhang Q, Yan J . Hand grip strength should be normalized by weight not height for eliminating the influence of individual differences: Findings from a cross-sectional study of 1,511 healthy undergraduates. Front Nutr. 2023; 9:1063939. PMC: 9890066. DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2022.1063939. View

17.

Marco G, Alberto B, Taian V . Surface EMG and muscle fatigue: multi-channel approaches to the study of myoelectric manifestations of muscle fatigue. Physiol Meas. 2017; 38(5):R27-R60. DOI: 10.1088/1361-6579/aa60b9. View

18.

Hussain L, Aziz W, Alowibdi J, Habib N, Rafique M, Saeed S . Symbolic time series analysis of electroencephalographic (EEG) epileptic seizure and brain dynamics with eye-open and eye-closed subjects during resting states. J Physiol Anthropol. 2017; 36(1):21. PMC: 5364663. DOI: 10.1186/s40101-017-0136-8. View

19.

van Vugt J, van Dijk J . A convenient method to reduce crosstalk in surface EMG. Cobb Award-winning article, 2001. Clin Neurophysiol. 2001; 112(4):583-92. DOI: 10.1016/s1388-2457(01)00482-5. View

20.

Farina D, Leclerc F, Arendt-Nielsen L, Buttelli O, Madeleine P . The change in spatial distribution of upper trapezius muscle activity is correlated to contraction duration. J Electromyogr Kinesiol. 2006; 18(1):16-25. DOI: 10.1016/j.jelekin.2006.08.005. View