Muscle cells have special proteins

that change both their

shape and their arrangement
in the cell in response to
nervous electrical impulses.
 ELECTROMYOGRAPHY
Jeyaganesh.N Evaluating and recording the activation signal
of muscles
Agenda
1.What is EMG ? 4.Procedure.
2.Electrical 5.Reference.
Characteristics. 6.Few tips.
3.History. 7.
4. 
Don’t get confused with…..
 Electromyogr
aph
Electromyogr
am
What is EMG ?
4.
“It involves
 

testing of
electrical activity
What EMG does ?
It checks

 An electromyograph detects the
the health electrical potential generated by
of the muscle cells, when these cells
muscles are both mechanically active and
and the
nerves
at rest.
that  The signals can be analyzed in
control order to detect medical
the
muscles.
abnormalities or analyze the
Another test,
biomechanics of human or
known as Nerve Conduction Test is also performed
animal movement.
side by side.
Electrical Characteristics
vThe electrical source,4.is the muscle
membrane potential of about -90mV.
v
vMeasured EMG potentials range between
less than 50 μV and up to 20 to 30 mV,
depending on the muscle under
observation.
History
1666 4.
Francesco Redi, discovered a highly specialized muscle of the
electric ray fish that generated electricity
 .
1773
Walsh, demonstrated that the eel fish’s muscle tissue could
generate a spark
of electricity.
1792
Luigi Galvani, demonstrated that electricity could initiate
muscle contractions.
Procedure
 Lets ponder, In Depth.….
2 Main Types

Surface EMG
Intramuscular
EMG
Surface / Intramuscular EMG
Motor Unit
 A motor unitis a single
α-motor neuron .
 When a motor unit is
activated, all of its
fibers contract.
 Groups of motor units
often work together to
coordinate the
contractions of a single
muscle.
Basic Block Diagram

Simulator Oscilloscope

Electrodes
Time Callibrator
Amplifier
EMG signal decomposition
 Made up of superimposed motor unit action
potentials (MUAPs) from several motor units.
 EMG signals can be decomposed into their
constituent MUAPs.
 MUAPs from different motor units tend to have
different characteristic shapes
 Notably MUAP size and shape depend on where
the electrode is located with respect to the
fibers and so can appear to be different if the
electrode moves position.
Positioning of the electrodes
Variables obtained from EMG
 raw EMG ： firing
pattern
 integrated
EMG(IEMG)
 amplitude: RMS(root
mean square)


 frequency analysis
Relationship with EMG &
muscle
 EMG activity &  EMG signals &
muscle force muscle fatigue
Normal vs. Abnormal Results
in EMG
Abnormal Results |
Neuropathic
 An action potential amplitude that is twice
normal due to the increased number of
fibres per motor unit because of
reinnervation of denervated fibres.
 An increase in duration of the action
potential
 A decrease in the number of motor units in
the muscle (as found using motor unit
number estimation techniques)
Abnormal Results| Myopathic
A decrease in duration of the action
potential
 A reduction in the area to amplitude ratio
of the action potential
 A decrease in the number of motor units in
the muscle (in extremely severe cases
only)

Reference
 http://
www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003929.htm
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromyography



Few Tips….
THANK YOU !