Comprehensive testing device for sciatic nerve trunk, motor nerve and skeletal muscle

Abstract

The invention discloses a comprehensive testing device for sciatic nerve trunks, motor nerves and skeletal muscles. The comprehensive testing device comprises a specimen bearing assembly composed of PU plates, an electrophysiological signal collecting and stimulating assembly composed of acupuncture needles and miniature alligator clips, and a muscular tension testing assembly composed of a support and a tension transducer. The PU plate can fix an in-vitro spine-spinal nerve-sciatic nerve trunk-tibial nerve-gastrocnemius muscle integrated active specimen of a frog, and the acupuncture needle can puncture an adventitia and is arranged between nerve fascia membranes or puncture an adventitia of skeletal muscle and is arranged between muscular fascia membranes and is connected with a biological function data analyzer, so that electrical stimulation application and electric signal and electromyographic signal acquisition are realized, and the biological function data analyzer is connected with a biological function data analyzer. The tension transducer is connected with the specimen and synchronously collects muscular tension signals. Neural and muscle testing functions are integrated, the use amount of experimental animals is reduced, the signal-to-noise ratio of signals is increased through acupuncture needle puncture type collection, the PU plate is flexible in adaptation, the electrode distance is adjustable, and neural electrophysiological signals and muscular tension signals can be synchronously obtained.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of physiological experimental equipment technology, specifically to the testing of electrophysiological characteristics and contractile function of frog nerve-muscle related components. It is suitable for teaching experiments and basic research scenarios, and aims to solve many shortcomings of traditional testing devices in terms of specimen use, signal acquisition, and functional coverage. Background Technology

[0002] In physiological experimental teaching and basic research, the testing of nerve trunk electrophysiological characteristics (such as action potential, conduction velocity, and refractory period), motor nerve conduction function, and skeletal muscle contractile efficiency (such as tension, contraction pattern, and load effect) are core contents. Traditional methods require two independent sets of equipment to complete related experiments: one is to use a nerve shielding box to process frog sciatic nerve trunk specimens to conduct experiments such as nerve electrical signal guidance and conduction velocity measurement; the other is to use skeletal muscle grooves to process frog sciatic nerve-gastrocnemius muscle specimens to complete tests such as muscle excitation-contraction relationship and electromyographic guidance.

[0003] However, traditional technical solutions have significant drawbacks and are difficult to adapt to the "comprehensive, reduced-quantity, and inquiry-based" requirements of modern experimental teaching. Specific problems are as follows:

[0004] The large number of specimens required violates the 3R principle of animal experiment ethics: traditional experiments require the preparation of two types of ex vivo specimens, which not only increases the number of experimental animals (frogs) used, but also prolongs the specimen preparation time. Under the background of limited experimental time, it is difficult to fully cover the core experimental items.

[0005] Poor signal acquisition stability and low signal-to-noise ratio: Traditional nerve shielding boxes use the epineurium surface recording method. The contact resistance between the electrode and the nerve trunk is easily affected by mechanical vibration and Ringer's droplet operation, resulting in significant attenuation of the acquired nerve trunk compound action potential signal. Furthermore, it is impossible to measure motor nerve conduction velocity (MCV) independently, which is out of touch with the clinical electromyography application scenario.

[0006] Insufficient electrode compatibility and spacing measurement accuracy: The electrode positions of the nerve shielding box are fixed, and the minimum adjustable spacing cannot be adapted to the conduction velocity measurement of short nerve trunks; at the same time, the lack of precise spacing measurement scale leads to large errors in conduction velocity calculation.

[0007] Limited functionality and inability to perform simultaneous testing: Traditional equipment can only perform nerve electrical signal or muscle contraction function tests independently, and cannot simultaneously collect nerve trunk action potentials, electromyographic signals and skeletal muscle tone signals, making it difficult to conduct "electrical signal-contraction function" correlation analysis experiments.

[0008] The lack of load regulation capability and the limitation of experimental scenarios: Traditional skeletal muscle grooves cannot accurately regulate the preload and afterload of skeletal muscle contraction, and cannot observe the effect of different loads on muscle contraction efficiency; moreover, it is necessary to frequently add Ringer's solution to maintain the viability of the specimen, which can easily lead to changes in the resistance between electrodes or even short circuits, further interfering with the experimental results.

[0009] Poor adaptability to drug experiments: Traditional devices are difficult to stably control the action of drugs on specific sites of nerves, muscles or neuromuscular junctions, making it impossible to conduct exploratory experiments on the effects of drugs on neuromuscular function and limiting the scalability of experiments.

[0010] In summary, existing testing devices suffer from technical bottlenecks such as large sample requirements, poor signal stability, incomplete functional coverage, lack of load control, and insufficient scalability, failing to meet the demand for "one-stop completion of neuromuscular integrated experiments." There is an urgent need for an integrated, high-precision, and multifunctional testing device to overcome the limitations of traditional technologies. Summary of the Invention

[0011] In view of the above problems, this application provides a comprehensive testing device for the sciatic nerve trunk, motor nerve and skeletal muscle to solve the technical problems of large sample volume, poor signal stability and incomplete functional coverage.

[0012] To achieve the above objectives, this application provides a comprehensive testing device for the sciatic nerve trunk, motor nerves, and skeletal muscles, applicable to basic medical teaching laboratories, comprising:

[0013] The specimen carrying assembly includes an insulating platform and a PU plate. The PU plate is disposed on the insulating platform, and the surface of the PU plate is provided with a fixation device for the frog ex vivo "spine-spinal nerve-sciatic nerve trunk-tibial nerve-gastrocnemius muscle" active specimen. It can also carry the active specimen and provide a basis for electrode placement.

[0014] An electrophysiological signal acquisition and stimulation component comprises several stimulation needles and several acquisition needles. The stimulation needles and acquisition needles are acupuncture needles. The stimulation needles can puncture the epimysium of the gastrocnemius or skeletal muscle and be placed between the perimysium, or they can puncture the epineurium and be placed between the perimysium and fixed to a PU plate. Each needle is fitted with a miniature alligator clip with a lead wire. The stimulation needles are connected to the electrical pulse signal output terminal of an external bio-functional data analyzer via the miniature alligator clips to apply electrical stimulation to muscle fibers or nerve tissue. The acquisition needles are connected to the signal acquisition terminal of the external bio-functional data analyzer via the miniature alligator clips with leads to acquire electrical signals between the perimysium or outside the perimysium, thereby acquiring compound action potentials and electromyographic signals of the nerve trunk.

[0015] The muscle tone testing assembly includes a bracket mounted on the edge of a PU plate and a tension transducer fixed on the bracket. The elastic cantilever beam of the tension transducer is connected to the gastrocnemius muscle and Achilles tendon of the active specimen via a first connecting line. The femur is fixed in a screw seat. The assembly is used to collect muscle tone signals during the contraction of the gastrocnemius muscle under electrical stimulation, thereby achieving synchronous testing of neurophysiological signals and muscle tone signals.

[0016] Furthermore, the bracket is also equipped with two pulleys and several weights, and the elastic cantilever beam of the tension transducer is connected to the weights via a second connecting line that passes around the two pulleys.

[0017] When no weight is suspended at the end of the second line, the preload contraction data of the gastrocnemius muscle is detected; after a weight is suspended at the end of the second line, the afterload contraction data of the gastrocnemius muscle is detected.

[0018] Furthermore, the installation height of the tension transducer on the support is adjustable, which is used to adjust the preload before the gastrocnemius muscle contracts in order to achieve zero preload tension.

[0019] Furthermore, the support is also equipped with a weight tray to support part of the weight. The height of the weight tray is adjustable via a thread, and the weight tray is equipped with a weighing device to precisely adjust the load exerted by the weight on the gastrocnemius muscle. By selecting weights of different masses to set the backload, and adjusting the height of the tension transducer to provide a frontload, different masses of weights are placed sequentially on the weight tray. The height of the weight tray is adjusted to ensure that the frontload does not change before muscle contraction and that the backload is immediately borne after muscle contraction begins, thereby achieving precise two-stage control of the front and backloads. Then, after adjusting the height of the tension transducer to bring its tension to zero, motion data is detected.

[0020] Furthermore, the PU plate surface is provided with a grid scale, which can be used to accurately measure the distance between adjacent acupuncture needle electrodes, and is suitable for the determination of nerve trunk conduction velocity, and is also suitable for short nerve trunks.

[0021] Furthermore, the electrophysiological signal acquisition and stimulation component also includes filter paper strips soaked in Ringer's solution. These filter paper strips can be placed between acupuncture needle electrodes to maintain specimen activity and avoid interference from electrolyte solutions on the resistance between electrodes. They can also be replaced with filter paper strips containing medicated Ringer's solution or absorbent cotton to conduct experiments on the effects of drugs on nerve and muscle activity.

[0022] Furthermore, the diameter of the acupuncture needle is adapted to the interneuronal space, the spacing between adjacent acupuncture needles can be flexibly adjusted, and the needles can be freely switched as stimulation electrodes, grounding electrodes, and acquisition electrodes using miniature alligator clips, ensuring that experimental variables are controllable.

[0023] Furthermore, the bio-function data analyzer is a bio-function experimental system that can simultaneously output electrical stimulation signals and collect and analyze neurophysiological signals and muscle tone signals.

[0024] Furthermore, the edge of the PU board is also provided with wiring terminals, which are used to connect the acupuncture needles to the external bio-function data analyzer to ensure the stability of signal transmission.

[0025] Furthermore, the PU plate is detachably mounted on an insulating platform, facilitating specimen spreading, device cleaning, and flexible adaptation to different experimental scenarios.

[0026] Unlike existing technologies, the above-mentioned technical solution for the integrated testing device of sciatic nerve trunk, motor nerve, and skeletal muscle includes a specimen-bearing component made of PU plate, an electrophysiological signal acquisition and stimulation component composed of acupuncture needles and miniature alligator clips, and a muscle tone testing component composed of a support and a tension transducer. The PU plate can fix an isolated frog specimen consisting of "spine-spinal nerve-sciatic nerve trunk-tibial nerve-gastrocnemius muscle". The acupuncture needle can puncture the skeletal muscle epimembrane and be placed between the perimysium or puncture the nerve epimembrane and be placed between the nerve perimysium and connected to a bio-functional data analyzer to realize the application of electrical stimulation and the acquisition of electrical signals. The tension transducer is connected to the specimen through a suture and simultaneously acquires muscle tone signals and neurophysiological signals. The stimulation needle punctures two different locations on the sciatic nerve trunk and collects electromyographic signals from the muscles it innervates. After applying electrical stimulation through two pairs of stimulation electrodes, the latency t1 and t2 of the induced electromyographic signals are measured. The motor nerve conduction velocity (MCV) in the sciatic nerve trunk is calculated according to v=s / Δt. This technical solution integrates nerve and muscle testing functions, reduces the number of experimental animals used, improves the signal-to-noise ratio through acupuncture needle puncture acquisition, and features flexible PU plate adaptation and adjustable electrode spacing. It simultaneously acquires nerve electrophysiological signals and muscle tone signals and can be used to measure MCV, meeting multi-dimensional experimental needs and simplifying experimental equipment and operation procedures.

[0027] The above description of the invention is merely an overview of the technical solution of this application. In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solution of this application and to implement it based on the description and drawings, and to make the above-mentioned objectives and other objectives, features and advantages of this application easier to understand, the following description is provided in conjunction with the specific embodiments and drawings of this application. Attached Figure Description

[0028] The accompanying drawings are only used to illustrate the principles, implementation methods, applications, features, and effects of specific embodiments of the present invention and other related contents, and should not be considered as limitations on this application.

[0029] In the accompanying drawings of the instruction manual:

[0030] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the sciatic nerve trunk, motor nerve and skeletal muscle comprehensive testing device described in a specific embodiment.

[0031] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the disassembly of the PU board as described in the specific implementation method;

[0032] Figure 3 for Figure 1 A magnified view of part A in the middle;

[0033] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the connection between the weight tray and the support in a specific embodiment.

[0034] Figure 5 A graph of the length-tension curve of gastrocnemius muscle contraction in a specific embodiment;

[0035] Figure 6 A force-velocity curve of gastrocnemius muscle contraction in a specific embodiment;

[0036] The reference numerals used in the above figures are explained as follows:

[0037] 1. Insulating platform; 2. PU board; 3. Acupuncture needle assembly; 4. Support; 5. Tension transducer;

[0038] 51. Flexible cantilever beam; 52. Transducer tray; 6. Weights;

[0039] 11. Terminal block; 15. Fixing device; 16. Assembly slot; 31. Acupuncture needle;

[0040] 32. Miniature alligator clip; 33. Wire; 41. Guide groove;

[0041] 110. Stimulation electrode terminal; 111. Grounding terminal; 112. Electromyography or bioelectrical signal acquisition terminal;

[0042] 61. Weight tray; 63. First connecting line; 64. Second connecting line; 611. Slider;

[0043] 612. Threaded adjusting block;

[0044] 80. Active specimen; 81. Nerve; 82. Gastrocnemius muscle; 83. Femur; 84. Spine; Detailed Implementation

[0045] To illustrate the possible application scenarios, technical principles, implementable specific solutions, and achievable objectives and effects of this application in detail, the following description, in conjunction with the listed specific embodiments and accompanying drawings, provides a detailed explanation. The embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the technical solutions of this application and are therefore intended to limit the scope of protection of this application.

[0046] In this document, the term "embodiment" means that a specific feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of this application. The term "embodiment" appearing in various places throughout the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor does it specifically limit its independence or connection with other embodiments. In principle, in this application, as long as there are no technical contradictions or conflicts, the technical features mentioned in each embodiment can be combined in any way to form corresponding implementable technical solutions.

[0047] Unless otherwise defined, the technical terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this application pertains; the use of related terms herein is merely for the purpose of describing particular embodiments and is not intended to limit this application.

[0048] In the description of this application, the term "and / or" is used to describe the logical relationship between objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B means: A exists, B exists, and A and B exist simultaneously. Additionally, the character " / " in this document generally indicates that the preceding and following objects have an "or" logical relationship.

[0049] In this application, terms such as “first” and “second” are used only to distinguish one entity or operation from another, and do not necessarily require or imply any actual quantity, hierarchy or order relationship between these entities or operations.

[0050] Without further limitations, the use of terms such as “comprising,” “including,” “having,” or other similar open-ended expressions in this application is intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, which does not exclude the presence of additional elements in a process, method, or product that includes the stated elements, such that a process, method, or product that includes a list of elements may include not only those defined elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, or product.

[0051] As understood in the Examination Guidelines, in this application, expressions such as "greater than," "less than," and "exceeding" are understood to exclude the stated number; expressions such as "above," "below," and "within" are understood to include the stated number. Furthermore, in the description of the embodiments in this application, "multiple" means two or more (including two), and similar expressions related to "multiple" are also understood in this way, such as "multiple groups" and "multiple times," unless otherwise explicitly specified.

[0052] In the description of the embodiments of this application, the space-related expressions used, such as "center," "longitudinal," "lateral," "length," "width," "thickness," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "vertical," "top," "bottom," "inner," "outer," "clockwise," "counterclockwise," "axial," "radial," and "circumferential," indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the specific embodiments or drawings. They are only for the purpose of describing the specific embodiments of this application or for the reader's understanding, and do not indicate or imply that the device or component referred to must have a specific position, a specific orientation, or be constructed or operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on the embodiments of this application.

[0053] Unless otherwise expressly specified or limited, the terms "installation," "connection," "linking," "fixing," and "setting," as used in the description of the embodiments of this application, should be interpreted broadly. For example, "connection" can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral setting; it can be a mechanical connection, an electrical connection, or a communication connection; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; it can be the internal connection of two components or the interaction between two components. For those skilled in the art to which this application pertains, the specific meaning of the above terms in the embodiments of this application can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0054] Please see Figures 1 to 6 This embodiment provides a comprehensive testing device for the sciatic nerve trunk, motor nerves, and skeletal muscles, which can be applied to basic medical teaching experiments. It can complete the comprehensive testing of nerve trunk electrophysiological characteristics, motor nerve conduction function, and skeletal muscle contraction efficiency in one stop, effectively solving the technical problems of traditional devices such as large sample volume, poor signal stability, and incomplete functional coverage.

[0055] This comprehensive testing device mainly includes a specimen carrying component, an electrophysiological signal acquisition and stimulation component, and a muscle tone testing component. These components work together to achieve synchronous acquisition and precise control of multi-dimensional signals. The structure, connection relationship, and working principle of each component are described in detail below with reference to the attached diagram:

[0056] The structure and working principle of the specimen carrying component are as follows:

[0057] like Figure 1 As shown, the specimen support assembly includes an insulating platform 1 and a PU plate 2, wherein the PU plate 2 is detachably disposed within the mounting slot 16 of the insulating platform 1 (e.g., Figure 2As shown, this detachable design facilitates specimen preparation before experiments and device cleaning afterward. Furthermore, it allows for flexible replacement of the appropriate PU board 2 to suit different experimental scenarios, significantly improving the device's versatility. The PU board 2 is made of polyurethane material, possessing excellent insulation and antistatic properties. Compared to the metal material of traditional nerve shielding boxes, it effectively reduces external static electricity and electromagnetic interference. Simultaneously, its good elasticity and plasticity allow for stable fixation of components such as the acupuncture needle 31 and frog nails, simplifying the setup requirements of the experimental device.

[0058] The surface of the PU plate 2 has a grid scale (not shown), which can accurately measure the distance between adjacent acupuncture needle electrodes 31, solving the problem of insufficient accuracy in measuring electrode distance in traditional nerve shielding boxes, and is especially suitable for the measurement of conduction velocity in short nerve trunks. In addition, the surface of the PU plate 2 is also provided with a fixing device 15 (such as... Figure 1 As shown), the fixation device 15 is a frog nail structure used to fix an isolated, live specimen 80 consisting of the frog's spine, spinal nerves, sciatic nerve trunk, tibial nerve, and gastrocnemius muscle. Figure 1 As shown, the active specimen 80 includes a nerve 81, a gastrocnemius muscle 82, and a femur 83, with the anterior end of the nerve 81 connected to the spine 84. The active specimen 80 is specifically fixed to the femur 83 on the fixation device 15. This fixation device 15 allows the specimen to spread naturally on the surface of the PU plate 2, preventing specimen displacement from affecting experimental accuracy. Furthermore, it eliminates the need to prepare the two types of ex vivo specimens required in traditional experiments, reducing the number of experimental animals used and conforming to the reduction principle in the 3R principles of animal experimentation ethics.

[0059] In this embodiment, the structure and working principle of the electrophysiological signal acquisition and stimulation component are as follows:

[0060] The electrophysiological signal acquisition and stimulation assembly includes several acupuncture needles 31, miniature alligator clips 32 with leads 33, and filter paper strips soaked in Ringer's solution. The acupuncture needles 31 and the leads 33 constitute the acupuncture needle assembly 3. Figure 1 As shown, the side of the insulating platform 1 is provided with multiple wiring terminals 11, with wires 33 connected to the corresponding wiring terminals 11. The wiring terminals 11 are then connected to an external biological function data analyzer via corresponding connecting wires 12. Figure 1As shown, the wiring terminal 11 includes two stimulation electrode terminals 110 (one positive and one negative), a grounding terminal 111 (grounded via a wire), and multiple electromyography (EMG) or bioelectrical signal acquisition terminals 112. The acupuncture needle 31 includes a stimulation needle connected to the stimulation electrode terminals 110 and an acquisition needle connected to the EMG or bioelectrical signal acquisition terminals 112. The stimulation electrode terminals 110 are connected to the stimulation signal output terminal of an external bio-function data analyzer via connecting wires; the EMG or bioelectrical signal acquisition terminals 112 are connected to the corresponding input terminals of the external bio-function data analyzer via connecting wires. The acupuncture needle 31, with a diameter adapted to the perimysial space or nerve perimysial space, can puncture into the skeletal muscle epimembrane and be placed between the perimysial membranes, or puncture into the nerve epimembrane and be fixed to the PU plate 2 between the nerve epimembrane. Compared with the traditional nerve shielding box that uses the nerve epimembrane surface recording method, the acupuncture needle 31 performs extracellular recording between the nerve epimembrane. This not only effectively reduces the signal attenuation caused by the epimembrane resistance, but more importantly, the active specimen is stably fixed by the acupuncture needle 31, so that the relative position of the specimen and the electrode and the contact resistance remain constant, fundamentally avoiding fluctuation interference during signal acquisition. In the existing technology, the electrode is only placed on the surface of the live specimen without fixation, and its contact resistance is easily affected by changes in the contact area. Moreover, the twitching of the specimen during electrical stimulation or the addition of drug solution will further aggravate the fluctuation of contact resistance, resulting in poor signal stability and low signal-to-noise ratio. This device, through the puncture and fixation design of the acupuncture needle 31, significantly improves the acquisition stability and signal-to-noise ratio of nerve trunk compound action potentials and electromyographic signals.

[0061] like Figure 1 and Figure 3 As shown, the acupuncture needle 31 is connected to an external bio-functional data analyzer (in this embodiment, a bio-functional experimental system, such as the BL-420F bio-functional experimental system; other models of bio-functional experimental systems can also be used in other embodiments) via a miniature alligator clip 32 with a lead wire 33. The stimulation needle is connected to the pulse signal output terminal of the bio-functional data analyzer to apply electrical stimulation to the nerve tissue; the acquisition needle is connected to the signal acquisition terminal of the bio-functional data analyzer to acquire the compound action potential and electromyographic signals of the nerve trunk. Simultaneously, the miniature alligator clip 32 allows for free switching of the acupuncture needle 31 as a stimulation electrode, grounding electrode, and acquisition electrode, avoiding the changes in contact resistance that may occur when the nerve trunk is inverted in traditional experiments. This effectively controls experimental variables and ensures the stability and scientific validity of the experimental results.

[0062] The spacing between adjacent acupuncture needles can be flexibly adjusted according to experimental needs. Combined with the grid scale on the surface of PU plate 2, the electrode spacing can be precisely controlled, solving the problem of fixed electrode positions and the inability of the minimum adjustable spacing in traditional nerve shielding boxes to adapt to the measurement of conduction velocity in short nerve trunks, thus reducing the error in conduction velocity calculation. Therefore, acupuncture needles can be used to measure the conduction velocity of nerve trunks, as well as short nerves. Furthermore, the filter paper strips in the electrophysiological signal acquisition and stimulation component cover the electrodes of acupuncture needles 31. Compared to the traditional method of directly adding Ringer's solution, this method can maintain the activity of the sample and avoid interference from electrolyte solutions on the resistance between electrodes. At the same time, these filter paper strips can be replaced with filter paper strips containing drug-treated Ringer's solution or absorbent cotton, facilitating exploratory experiments on the effects of drugs on nerve and muscle activity, overcoming the limitation of poor adaptability of traditional devices for drug experiments.

[0063] The edge of PU board 2 is also provided with wiring terminals 11 (such as... Figure 1 As shown in the figure, the circuit is used to connect the acupuncture needle 31 to the external bio-function data analyzer, reducing signal interference caused by direct connection of the wire 33, ensuring the stability of signal transmission, and further improving the reliability of experimental data.

[0064] During the experiment, the stimulating needle was punctured at two different locations on the sciatic nerve trunk of the active specimen 80. Electromyographic (EMG) signals were collected from the muscles innervated by the needle. After applying electrical stimulation through two pairs of stimulating electrodes, the latencies t1 and t2 of the induced EMG signals were measured. The motor nerve conduction velocity (MCV) within the sciatic nerve trunk was calculated using v=s / Δt. The structure and working principle of the muscle tone testing component are as follows:

[0065] like Figure 1 As shown, the muscle tone testing assembly includes a bracket 4 mounted on the edge of the PU plate 2, a tension transducer 5 fixed on the bracket 4, two pulleys 7 mounted on the bracket 4, several weights 6, and a weight tray 61 set on the bracket 4. The tension transducer 5 is fixed to the bracket 4 via the transducer tray 52, and its elastic cantilever beam 51 is connected to the gastrocnemius muscle and Achilles tendon of the active specimen via a first connecting line 63. The femur is placed in a screw seat. This assembly is used to collect muscle tone signals during the contraction of the gastrocnemius muscle under electrical stimulation, achieving synchronous testing of neurophysiological signals and muscle tone signals. This solves the problem that traditional devices cannot simultaneously collect multi-dimensional signals and are difficult to conduct correlation analysis between "electrical signals and contractile function".

[0066] The muscle tone testing component can be used for preload and afterload exercise testing. Preload refers to the load a muscle bears before contraction, achieved by changing the initial length of the muscle. Afterload refers to the resistance or load encountered by the muscle during contraction. Afterload testing mainly studies the contraction speed, tension changes, and work capacity of muscles under different resistance conditions (i.e., different afterloads). The implementation of preload and afterload exercise testing is as follows:

[0067] 1. Preload Exercise Test: When the weight 6 is not suspended at the end of the second connection 64, the gastrocnemius Achilles tendon is connected to the elastic cantilever beam 51 of the tension transducer 5 only through the first connection 63. At this time, the gastrocnemius muscle is without afterload. Before the test, the initial length of the muscle is adjusted (e.g., by stretching or shortening the muscle). By adjusting the installation height of the tension transducer 5 on the support 4, the output of the tension transducer 5 is reduced to zero. A constant stimulus is applied to the gastrocnemius muscle, and the contraction movement data of the gastrocnemius muscle under no-load conditions are collected by a bio-functional data analyzer. The maximum active tension of the gastrocnemius muscle at different initial lengths is recorded by a tension sensor, and a length-tension curve is plotted (e.g., ...). Figure 6 As shown in the figure, this completes the preload motion test.

[0068] 2. Afterload Exercise Test: The afterload exercise test is similar to the preload exercise test, but the focus is on controlling the resistance encountered during muscle contraction, such as... Figure 1 As shown, when a backload test is required, the first connection 63 is connected to the second connection 64. The second connection 64 passes through two pulleys 7 and suspends a weight 6. When the gastrocnemius muscle is stimulated and begins to contract, the weight of the weight becomes the resistance to muscle contraction, simulating different backload conditions. Before the test, the backload is set by increasing or decreasing the number of weights 6, or by selecting weights of different masses. The preload is zeroed by adjusting the height of the tension transducer (i.e., by adjusting the tension of the first connection to ensure that the gastrocnemius muscle does not bear tension before contraction). Weights of different masses are placed sequentially on the weight tray, and the height of the weight tray is adjusted to ensure that the preload does not change before muscle contraction and that the muscle immediately bears the backload generated by the weight when it begins to contract. After the backload exercise test, the backload test is performed. Figure 5 The figure shows a curve of length versus tension during gastrocnemius muscle contraction. In this embodiment, the design of height-adjustable tension transducer 5 and dual-stage precise control of weight tray 61 enables efficient and accurate adjustment of preload and afterload, solving the problems of traditional skeletal muscle grooves being unable to precisely control load and limited experimental scenarios. This allows for systematic observation of the effects of different loads on muscle contraction efficiency.

[0069] In this embodiment, the weight tray is height-adjustable via a threaded connection, and its specific structure is as follows:

[0070] The two-stage precision control of the weight tray 61 is achieved through the cooperation of the slider 611 and the threaded adjustment block 612 (e.g., Figure 4 As shown): The slider 611 has a cylindrical structure, which is slidably fitted onto the outer periphery of the bracket 4, and can slide along the guide groove 41 on the bracket 4 (as shown). Figure 1 As shown, the slider 611 slides along the direction indicated by arrow Y, which drives the weight tray 61 to rise and fall as a whole. The slider 611 has threads on its outer circumference, and two threaded adjustment blocks 612 are provided, located on the upper and lower surfaces of the weight tray 61 respectively. Each threaded adjustment block 612 has a threaded hole that matches the threads on the outer circumference of the slider 611. By rotating the two threaded adjustment blocks 612, the height of the weight tray 61 relative to the slider 611 can be finely adjusted, thereby precisely adjusting the supporting force on the weight 6. During the experiment, the dual-stage precise control of the weight tray is achieved as follows: A backload is set by selecting weights of different masses, and a frontload is applied by adjusting the height of the tension transducer. Weights of different masses are placed sequentially on the weight tray. The height of the weight tray is adjusted to ensure that the frontload does not change before muscle contraction and that the backload is immediately borne when muscle contraction begins, thus achieving dual-stage precise control of the front and back loads. Then, the motion data is detected after adjusting the height of the tension transducer to zero.

[0071] Through the aforementioned two-stage control method of coarse and fine adjustment, the load on the gastrocnemius muscle can be precisely controlled, overcoming the technical bottleneck of the lack of load control capability in traditional devices and providing reliable technical support for research on muscle contraction characteristics under different loads. Simultaneously, the installation height of the tension transducer 5 on the support 4 can be flexibly adjusted, not only to achieve zero tension under preload or afterload, but also to adjust the preload before gastrocnemius muscle contraction, facilitating observation of the effect of preload on muscle contraction efficiency and further expanding the experimental coverage.

[0072] In practical application, the sciatic nerve trunk, motor nerve, and skeletal muscle integrated testing device of this embodiment first prepares an isolated frog specimen consisting of "spine-spinal nerve-sciatic nerve trunk-tibial nerve-gastrocnemius muscle," which is then spread out and fixed to a PU plate 2 using a fixing device 15. Subsequently, according to experimental requirements, acupuncture needles 31 are inserted into the sciatic nerve trunk and gastrocnemius muscle. The electrode function is switched using a miniature alligator clip 32 and connected to the bio-functional experimental system. Filter paper strips soaked in Ringer's solution are placed between the electrodes of the acupuncture needles 31. Next, according to testing requirements, a preload or afterload testing mode is selected, and the height of the tension transducer 5 and the position of the weight tray 61 are adjusted to bring the output of the tension transducer 5 to zero. Finally, electrical stimulation is applied through a bio-functional data analyzer, and nerve trunk composite action potentials, electromyographic signals, and muscle tone signals are simultaneously collected to complete the relevant experimental items.

[0073] This device integrates the functions of a traditional nerve shielding box and a skeletal muscle groove through its integrated design. It can complete multiple experimental projects such as nerve trunk action potential guidance, conduction velocity measurement, electromyography guidance, and muscle contraction curve measurement with only one active specimen, reducing the amount of experimental animals used and the specimen preparation time, and is suitable for teaching scenarios with limited experimental time. It adopts acupuncture needle 31 for puncture fixation and signal acquisition, combined with the insulation and antistatic properties of PU plate 2 and the circuit conversion design of terminal 11, which not only improves the stability and signal-to-noise ratio of signal acquisition, but also enables the independent measurement of motor nerve conduction velocity (MCV), aligning with clinical electromyography applications. The grid scale of PU plate 2 and the flexibly adjustable spacing of acupuncture needle 31 improve the measurement accuracy of electrode spacing, making it suitable for the measurement of conduction velocity of short nerve trunks. With the dual-level control design of tension transducer 5 and weight tray 61, precise control of preload and afterload is achieved, expanding the experimental scenarios. The replacement design of drug-containing filter paper strips improves the adaptability of drug experiments and supports the conduction of exploratory experiments.

[0074] In summary, the integrated testing device of this embodiment effectively overcomes many limitations of traditional technologies, possessing the characteristics of integration, high precision, and multifunctionality. It can meet the needs of "one-stop completion of neuromuscular integrated experiments" in teaching experiments and basic research, and has significant practical value and promotional significance.

[0075] Finally, it should be noted that although the above embodiments have been described in the text and drawings of this application, this should not limit the scope of patent protection of this application. Any technical solutions that are based on the essential concept of this application and utilize the content described in the text and drawings of this application, resulting in equivalent structural or procedural substitutions or modifications, as well as the direct or indirect application of the technical solutions of the above embodiments to other related technical fields, are all included within the scope of patent protection of this application.

Claims

1. A comprehensive testing device for the sciatic nerve trunk, motor nerves, and skeletal muscles, used in basic medical teaching experiments, characterized in that... include: The specimen carrying assembly includes an insulating platform and a PU plate. The PU plate is disposed on the insulating platform, and a fixation device for an ex vivo frog specimen consisting of "spinal cord-spinal nerve-sciatic nerve trunk-tibial nerve-gastrocnemius muscle" is disposed on the surface of the PU plate. An electrophysiological signal acquisition and stimulation component includes several stimulation needles and several acquisition needles. The stimulation needles and acquisition needles are acupuncture needles. The stimulation needles can puncture the gastrocnemius muscle and be placed between the perimysium, or puncture the epineurium and be placed between the perimysium and fixed to a PU plate. They are connected to the electrical pulse signal output terminal of an external bio-functional data analyzer via miniature alligator clips with leads, for applying electrical stimulation to nerve tissue or muscle fibers. The acquisition needles are connected to the signal acquisition terminal of the external bio-functional data analyzer via miniature alligator clips with leads, for acquiring electrical signals between the perimysium or muscle perimysium, realizing the acquisition of compound action potentials and electromyographic signals of the nerve trunk. The muscle tone testing assembly includes a bracket mounted on the edge of a PU plate and a tension transducer fixed on the bracket. The elastic cantilever beam of the tension transducer is connected to the gastrocnemius Achilles tendon of the active specimen via a first connecting line, and is used to collect muscle tone signals during the contraction of the gastrocnemius muscle under electrical stimulation, thereby achieving synchronous testing of neurophysiological signals and muscle tone signals. The bracket is also equipped with two pulleys and several weights, and the elastic cantilever beam of the tension transducer is connected to the weights via a second connecting line that passes around the two pulleys. When no weight is suspended at the end of the second line, the preload contraction data of the gastrocnemius muscle is measured; after a weight is suspended at the end of the second line, the afterload contraction data of the gastrocnemius muscle is measured. The support is also equipped with a weight tray to support part of the weight; the height of the weight tray can be adjusted by a slider and a threaded adjustment block. The slider is slidably fitted onto the outer periphery of the bracket. The outer periphery of the slider is provided with threads. The threaded adjustment block has a threaded hole that matches the threads. There are two threaded adjustment blocks, located on the upper and lower surfaces of the weight tray respectively. Rotating the two threaded adjustment blocks can adjust the height of the weight tray relative to the slider, thereby precisely adjusting the supporting force on the weight.

2. The sciatic nerve trunk, motor nerve, and skeletal muscle comprehensive testing device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The tension transducer is mounted at an adjustable height on the support, which is used to adjust the preload before the gastrocnemius muscle contracts so that its tension is reduced to zero.

3. The sciatic nerve trunk, motor nerve, and skeletal muscle comprehensive testing device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The PU plate has a grid scale on its surface, which can be used to accurately measure the distance between adjacent acupuncture needle electrodes, and is suitable for measuring the conduction velocity of nerve trunks.

4. The sciatic nerve trunk, motor nerve, and skeletal muscle comprehensive testing device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The electrophysiological signal acquisition and stimulation component also includes filter paper strips soaked in Ringer's solution. These filter paper strips can be placed between acupuncture needle electrodes to maintain specimen activity and avoid interference from electrolyte solutions on the resistance between electrodes. They can also be replaced with filter paper strips containing medicated Ringer's solution or absorbent cotton to conduct experiments on the effects of drugs on nerve and muscle activity.

5. The sciatic nerve trunk, motor nerve, and skeletal muscle comprehensive testing device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The diameter of the acupuncture needles is adapted to the gap between the nerve bundle membranes, the spacing between adjacent acupuncture needles can be flexibly adjusted, and the needles can be freely switched as stimulation electrodes, grounding electrodes and acquisition electrodes through miniature alligator clips to ensure that experimental variables are controllable.

6. The sciatic nerve trunk, motor nerve, and skeletal muscle comprehensive testing device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The biological function data analyzer is a biological function experimental system that can simultaneously output electrical stimulation signals and collect and analyze neurophysiological signals and muscle tone signals.

7. The sciatic nerve trunk, motor nerve, and skeletal muscle comprehensive testing device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The edge of the PU board is also provided with wiring terminals, which are used to connect the acupuncture needles to the external bio-function data analyzer to ensure the stability of signal transmission.

8. The sciatic nerve trunk, motor nerve, and skeletal muscle comprehensive testing device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The PU plate is detachably mounted on an insulating platform, facilitating specimen spreading, device cleaning, and flexible adaptation to different experimental scenarios.

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