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A simulation study on the depth information of motor units

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Abstract

Purpose

The depth information of muscle motor units is important in clinical applications. The purpose of this paper is to investigate relationship between motor unit action potentials from surface electromyography and motor unit (MU) depth.

Methods

Firstly, the skin structure was depicted, and the action potential was considered as a constant current source, which was generated by a tripole model. Secondly, the potential generated by the tripole on the surface was given. Finally, the relationships between MU depth and MU action potential (MUAP) parameters on the skin were studied.

Results

The regression analysis showed a low relative error for the simulated signals. When the position of the detected electrodes was 18 mm, the linear regression analysis yielded 2.47% in the case of arc, and 2.48% in the case of side. The relationships between the peak to peak amplitude of MUAP and the lengths (arc and side) were tested by the nonlinear regression analysis. The sum of the squared errors was less than 0.0202, and the coefficient of determination was more than 0.9939.

Conclusions

These results show that it is possible to estimate MU depth by action potentials on surface electrodes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Electronic and Information Engineering, Ningbo University of Technology, Zhejiang, 315016, China

    Jinbao He, Xinhua Yi & Zaifei Luo

Authors
  1. Jinbao He
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  2. Xinhua Yi
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  3. Zaifei Luo
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Correspondence to Jinbao He.

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He, J., Yi, X. & Luo, Z. A simulation study on the depth information of motor units. Biomed. Eng. Lett. 6, 80–86 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13534-016-0219-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13534-016-0219-1

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