<p>Sammanfattning</p><p>Syftet med studien var att undersöka om det fanns någon skillnad i muskelaktivitet i</p><p>vadmuskulaturen när olika eller inget vadskydd användes vid vadpress. Jämförelse</p><p>gjordes mellan vadskydd (A), stickat av ett modifierat polyolefingarn och ett till</p><p>stickningen identiskt och utseende näst intill identiskt vadskydd (B) av polyamid,</p><p>samt utan vadskydd.</p><p>Testgruppen bestod av 13 män från militärhögskolan i Halmstad. Testpersonerna</p><p>genomförde vadpress i smithmaskin* på en belastning av 50% av 1RM*.</p><p>Muskelaktiviteten mättes med hjälp av sEMG* och tre mätningar per person</p><p>genomfördes. Det första utan vadskydd, andra med vadskydd A och det tredje med</p><p>vadskydd B.</p><p> </p><p>Resultaten visade ingen signifikant skillnad i muskelaktivitet mellan användandet av</p><p>vadskydd A och vadskydd B eller mellan vadskydd A och utan vadskydd.</p><p>Mätmetoden sEMG är känslig och kan ha gett missvisande resultat. Fler studier</p><p>behöver göras dels angående skillnad i muskelaktivitet och dels för att testa</p><p>vadskyddens eventuella andra egenskaper, positiva eller negativa. Intresset väcktes att</p><p>utveckla metoden för framtida studier/forskning.</p><p> </p><p>Abstract</p><p>The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there was any difference in</p><p>muscle activation in the calf muscles with different or no calf protector used in calf</p><p>press. Comparison was made between a calf protector (A), made with modified</p><p>polyolefin, and another calfprotector (B) of polyamide with identical knitting and</p><p>almost identical appearance, and without the calf protector.</p><p>The test group consisted of 13 men from the military academy in Halmstad. The test</p><p>subjects used a smith machine and performed calf raises on a load of 50% of 1RM.</p><p>Muscle activity was measured using sEMG and three measurements per person were</p><p>conducted. The first measurement without calf protector, second with calf protector A</p><p>and the third with calf protector B (appearance almost identical with A).</p><p>The results showed no significant difference in muscle activation between the use of</p><p>calf protector A and B, or between calf protector A and without calf protector.</p><p>However, the method used is very sensitive and it is hard to tell if the result is correct</p><p>or not. More studies need to be done concerning differences in muscle activation but</p><p>also to measure if there are other differences, negative or positive, between the calf</p><p>protectors. Interest was awakened to develop methodology for future studies research.</p>

Involuntary muscle contractions (spasms) are a major secondary consequence of spinal cord injury. These spasms disrupt mobility and the ability to perform daily activities. The rhythmic repetitive muscle contractions of clonus are one kind of spasm. In this study an algorithm was developed to automatically detect the start and end times of EMG bursts during clonus. These measures were used to calculate the duration of EMG bursts, clonus frequency and the intensity (root mean square) of each EMG burst, parameters that characterize clonus. This algorithm relied on the technique of intensity analysis (Von Tscharner 2000). Filters were created by non-linearly scaling a Mother (Morlet) wavelet to produce envelopes of the EMG in different frequency bands. The intermediate frequency band (80-190 Hz) enveloped the EMG best and was used to detect the EMG bursts during clonus. To detect the EMG bursts, an intensity threshold and time separation threshold were imposed on the algorithm to eliminate multiple peaks caused by the baseline EMG, motor units or EMG changes. Window regions were extended between the midpoints of identified EMG peaks then resized to 50 ms on either side of each identified EMG peak. The start and end times of EMG bursts were at 5% and 95% of the energy contained in a window region, respectively. A motor unit threshold constraint was used to eliminate motor unit potentials at the beginning and end of clonus. The algorithm output from 31 spasms in long term (24 hr) EMG data recorded from 8 paralyzed leg muscles of 7 subjects with a chronic cervical spinal cord injury were compared to that generated by two independent human operators. The algorithm was as good as a human operator at identifying EMG bursts (p = 0.946), clonus frequency (intra class correlation coefficient (p = 0.949), contraction intensity (p = 0.997) and the durations of each burst of EMG during clonus (p = 0.852). On average the algorithm was 574 (SE 238) times faster than manual analysis by two people (p <= 0.001). Analysis of clonus in one 24 hour dataset from the right medial gastrocnemius muscle with the algorithm showed that clonus was more prevalent and stronger during awake versus sleep time. This algorithm can be used to analyze long term recordings accurately with limited user intervention. The algorithm may also be a prospective diagnostic tool to judge the effectiveness of interventions such as drugs like baclofen that are used to mitigate clonus.

The objective of this study is to remove or, at least, reduce the noise in uterine EMG recordings, which at their present noise level render the data unusable. Predicting when true labor will start and recognizing when labor actually starts are important for both normal and complex pregnancies. For normal pregnancy, the prognosis of labor is important for reducing unnecessary hospital costs. About 10% of the four million babies born each year in the United States are born prematurely. At $1,500 a day for neonatal intensive care, this comprises national health care expenses of well over $5 billion. Spectral analysis, filter design, and 1/3 octave analysis were applied to analyze the uterine EMG recordings. Signal-to-noise ratio was increased with IIR Butterworth bandstop filter. The spectral band between 0.25 and 0.4 Hz shows matching of the Toco belt via spectral analysis. Nevertheless, 1/3 octave analysis gives the highest correct detection percentage compare with frequency analysis and filter design.

Sammanfattning Syftet med studien var att undersöka om det fanns någon skillnad i muskelaktivitet i vadmuskulaturen när olika eller inget vadskydd användes vid vadpress. Jämförelse gjordes mellan vadskydd (A), stickat av ett modifierat polyolefingarn och ett till stickningen identiskt och utseende näst intill identiskt vadskydd (B) av polyamid, samt utan vadskydd. Testgruppen bestod av 13 män från militärhögskolan i Halmstad. Testpersonerna genomförde vadpress i smithmaskin* på en belastning av 50% av 1RM*. Muskelaktiviteten mättes med hjälp av sEMG* och tre mätningar per person genomfördes. Det första utan vadskydd, andra med vadskydd A och det tredje med vadskydd B.   Resultaten visade ingen signifikant skillnad i muskelaktivitet mellan användandet av vadskydd A och vadskydd B eller mellan vadskydd A och utan vadskydd. Mätmetoden sEMG är känslig och kan ha gett missvisande resultat. Fler studier behöver göras dels angående skillnad i muskelaktivitet och dels för att testa vadskyddens eventuella andra egenskaper, positiva eller negativa. Intresset väcktes att utveckla metoden för framtida studier/forskning.   Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there was any difference in muscle activation in the calf muscles with different or no calf protector used in calf press. Comparison was made between a calf protector (A), made with modified polyolefin, and another calfprotector (B) of polyamide with identical knitting and almost identical appearance, and without the calf protector. The test group consisted of 13 men from the military academy in Halmstad. The test subjects used a smith machine and performed calf raises on a load of 50% of 1RM. Muscle activity was measured using sEMG and three measurements per person were conducted. The first measurement without calf protector, second with calf protector A and the third with calf protector B (appearance almost identical with A). The results showed no significant difference in muscle activation between the use of calf protector A and B, or between calf protector A and without calf protector. However, the method used is very sensitive and it is hard to tell if the result is correct or not. More studies need to be done concerning differences in muscle activation but also to measure if there are other differences, negative or positive, between the calf protectors. Interest was awakened to develop methodology for future studies research.

The intention of this thesis project report is to control a servo motor by using Electromyography(EMG) signals in the purpose of learning about bioamplifers and how ATMEL AVR Series microcontrollers work. EMG is the a test that is used to record the electrical activity of muscles. In order to fulfill our intention an EMG amplifier, an ADC converter and a servo motor controller is build to be used with the simple mechenical gripper where the control of the gripper is directly related with the amplitude of the EMG signals taken from the hand muscles. In the development and USART serial communication part is also added enabling to see the ADC results in computer.

The objective of this study is to remove or, at least, reduce the noise in uterine EMG recordings, which at their present noise level render the data unusable. Predicting when true labor will start and recognizing when labor actually starts are important for both normal and complex pregnancies. For normal pregnancy, the prognosis of labor is important for reducing unnecessary hospital costs. About 10% of the four million babies born each year in the United States are born prematurely. At $1,500 a day for neonatal intensive care, this comprises national health care expenses of well over $5 billion. Spectral analysis, filter design, and 1/3 octave analysis were applied to analyze the uterine EMG recordings. Signal-to-noise ratio was increased with IIR Butterworth bandstop filter. The spectral band between 0.25 and 0.4 Hz shows matching of the Toco belt via spectral analysis. Nevertheless, 1/3 octave analysis gives the highest correct detection percentage compare with frequency analysis and filter design.

No description available.

Shoulder complaints constitute a significant portion of primary care visits each year in the US, costing $7 billion in annual medical treatment. Shoulder complaints arise from some type of trauma caused by muscle imbalances, proprioception, overuse, anatomical or a combination of these factors. More than two thirds of complaints involve the rotator cuff. Literature regarding shoulder mechanics and proprioception is mixed and with contradictory results. This may be the reason for the high incidence and low success rate in treating shoulder complaints. Here the contributions of the supraspinatus muscle to humeral elevation, and shoulder proprioception are investigated. The results of this dissertation are applicable to developing shoulder injury treatment and preventative strategies, computational shoulder models, and understanding proprioception at the shoulder. This dissertation includes previously published and unpublished co-authored material.

Äldre människor är en grupp som växer och blir allt större. På grund av åldrandetdrabbas denna grupp ofta av någon form av funktionsnedsättning. Många gångerkan den äldre populationen känna sig hotad av åldrandet, eftersom den påverkarindividens självständighet. Ett sätt att bibehålla självständigheten är att användahjälpmedel. Idag finns många hjälpmedel på marknaden, vilket också ökatbehovet av att utvärdera hur väl produkterna uppfyller sin funktion. Ett företagsom tillverkar hjälpmedel för äldre är ComfortSystem AB (CS). Syftet med dettaprojekt har varit att utvärdera två hjälpmedel för att ta sig ur säng och detta meden lämplig metod för produktutvärdering. Målet med projektet har varit attanvända den utvalda metoden för att redovisa siffror som ett resultat av produktutvärderingen.Med Puhgs utvärderingsmatris valdes elektromyografi (EMG) somen lämplig utvärderingsmetod. Vid tillämpning av EMG visade detta att vidanvändning av produkterna sker en förändring av muskelaktiviteten för m. rectusabdominis och m. obliquus externus abdominis när hjälpmedlen används jämförtmed att ta sig ur säng och att inte använda dem. En intervju genomfördes medföretaget för att undersöka resultatets betydelse för CSs produktutvecklingsprocess.För ett statistiskt säkert resultat krävs vidare studier med fler testpersoner. / The elderly are a constantly growing part of the population. Due to aging,members of this group are often subjects to some kind of disability. It is quitecommon that elderly feel frightened by their aging as it may affect the individual'sindependence. One way to maintain independence is to use assistive devices.There are currently many such devices on the market, something that has calledfor better ways to determine how well these products operate. A company that ismanufacturing assistive devices for the elderly is ComfortSystem AB (CS). Thepurpose of this project was to evaluate two assistive devices for getting in and outof bed, using a suitable method for product evaluation. The goal of the project wasto apply the chosen method to present numbers as a result of the evaluation. UsingPugh's evaluation matrix electromyography (EMG) was chosen as a suitableevaluation method. When EMG was applied it was showed that there is a changein the muscle activity among the m. rectus abdominis and m. externus obliquusabdominis when using the assistive devices compared to getting out of bed andnot using the devices. An interview was conducted with the company to establishthe impact of the chosen method on CS's product development process. For astatistically sound result more studies using more subjects are necessary.

A multichannel single fiber EMG recording system has been developed and tested. This system is based on a multichannel needle electrode which has the ability to record EMG signals from multiple sites within the muscle under study without reinsertion. Therefore, not only is the recording volume of the electrode. increased but also enhancement of the single channel electrodes is possible through spatial filtering. The recording system, currently implemented on a PDP-11/34 computer, amplifies, filters and digitally stores the multichannel EMG signals for further signal processing. Signal processing techniques were developed to detect and extract motor unit action potentials from the EMG signal. Due to the large amount of data recorded by the multichannel electrode, slower sampling rates for digitizing the action potentials were required. Even with near Nyquist sampled signals the accuracy of this technique was shown to be nearly equivalent to conventional extraction of action potential features samples at four times the Nyquist rate. Finally, the problem of superpositioning of action potentials was addressed. By modifying the interpolation routine an algorithm for resolving superpositions was developed. / Thesis / Master of Engineering (ME)