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Recording and assessment of evoked potentials with electrode arrays

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Abstract

In order to optimize procedure for the assessment of evoked potentials and to provide visualization of the flow of action potentials along the motor systems, we introduced array electrodes for stimulation and recording and developed software for the analysis of the recordings. The system uses a stimulator connected to an electrode array for the generation of evoked potentials, an electrode array connected to the amplifier, A/D converter and computer for the recording of evoked potentials, and a dedicated software application. The method has been tested for the assessment of the H-reflex on the triceps surae muscle in six healthy humans. The electrode array with 16 pads was positioned over the posterior aspect of the thigh, while the recording electrode array with 16 pads was positioned over the triceps surae muscle. The stimulator activated all the pads of the stimulation electrode array asynchronously, while the signals were recorded continuously at all the recording sites. The results are topography maps (spatial distribution of evoked potentials) and matrices (spatial visualization of nerve excitability). The software allows the automatic selection of the lowest stimulation intensity to achieve maximal H-reflex amplitude and selection of the recording/stimulation pads according to predefined criteria. The analysis of results shows that the method provides rich information compared with the conventional recording of the H-reflex with regard the spatial distribution.

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Acknowledgments

The work on this project was supported partly by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Republic of Serbia, Grant OI175016. The authors would like to thank all the volunteers involved in this study and PhD MD Laszlo Schwirtlih, MD Radoje Čobeljić, PhD MD Ksenija Ribarić, and MT Mihajlo Tančić for their valuable help in the design of the method and measurements. We would like to acknowledge both Tecnalia Serbia Ltd. for designing the electrode arrays for stimulation and EMG measurements and for providing us with the stimulator. The authors would like to thank Prof. Roberto Merletti for his valuable advice on the preparation of the manuscript and Prof. Milan R. Dimitrijević for his valuable advice during all phases of the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Belgrade - Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Bulevar kralja Aleksandra 73, 11000, Belgrade, Serbia

    N. Miljković, N. Malešević, V. Kojić & D. B. Popović

  2. Tecnalia Serbia Ltd., Vladetina 13/6, Belgrade, Serbia

    N. Miljković, N. Malešević, V. Kojić & G. Bijelić

  3. Tecnalia, Health Unit, Paseo Mikeletegi 1, 20011, San Sebastian/Donostia, Spain

    T. Keller

Authors
  1. N. Miljković
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  2. N. Malešević
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  3. V. Kojić
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  4. G. Bijelić
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  5. T. Keller
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  6. D. B. Popović
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Correspondence to N. Miljković.

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Miljković, N., Malešević, N., Kojić, V. et al. Recording and assessment of evoked potentials with electrode arrays. Med Biol Eng Comput 53, 857–867 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11517-015-1292-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11517-015-1292-9

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