Abstract
Electromyography is a valuable technique that can be used for several purposes, including the comprehension and assessment of the motor system as well as the diagnosis of some pathologies and rehabilitation. Given the drawbacks of traditional surface electromyography recordings with two electrodes, a new approach called high-density surface electromyography enables implementation of spatial information to the temporal information content of the electromyographic signal. The following review describes the rationale for the use of high-density recordings, the state of the art techniques, and technologies for its detection and conditioning. Some examples are showcased providing new insights on muscle physiology, ergonomics (for the assessment and prevention of musculoskeletal disorders), as well as training and rehabilitation treatments.
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Notes
- 1.
In a broad sense, a signal is defined as stationary if its statistical parameters (e.g., mean and variance) do not change over time.
- 2.
In EMG analysis, a spatial filter is an operation where the signal at each channel in the electrode array is changed by a function of the signals in the neighboring electrodes.
- 3.
Blind source separation is the separation of a set of source signals from a set of mixed signals, which is carried out without the aid of information about the source signals, or the mixing process. To this end, blind source separation algorithms typically assume that the signals are statistically independent or uncorrelated.
- 4.
CMRR is the ability of the amplifier to reject the input signals that are common to both inputs.
- 5.
Kurtosis is a feature of a probabilistic density function that describes its shape.
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Acknowledgments
The authors thank Prof. Roberto Merletti (LISiN, Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy) for his valuable help in the organization of the chapter, his contribution to the writing of this chapter, and his subsequent revisions of the text.
The authors also thank Diego Torricelli for his continuous supervising, always paying attention to the detail and giving important advices to work out this chapter.
This chapter is partially based on the plenary lecture “Prevention and rehabilitation of neuromuscular disorders using High Density Surface EMG” imparted by Prof Roberto Merletti at the 2012 International Summer School on Neurorehabilitation, “Emerging Therapies,” held in Zaragoza from the 16th to the 21st of September 2012.
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Barroso, F., Bueno, D.R., Gallego, J.Á., Jaramillo, P., Kilicarslan, A. (2014). Surface EMG in Neurorehabilitation and Ergonomics: State of the Art and Future Perspectives. In: Pons, J., Torricelli, D. (eds) Emerging Therapies in Neurorehabilitation. Biosystems & Biorobotics, vol 4. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-38556-8_14
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