Electromyography Reproducibility Index for Muscle Movement Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods fail to effectively evaluate the stability of muscle movement during repetitive exercises, such as cycling or running, as they cannot identify the factors causing instability in muscle coordination.
Innovation Solution
An electromyography processing apparatus and method that includes an electromyography acquiring unit to generate data and an evaluation unit to calculate a reproducibility index, quantifying the stability of muscle movement by analyzing the reproducibility of electromyography transitions using power, sequence, and time indices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If power meter is mounted on bike pedal to confirm identical motion repetition, then motion stability can be measured, but muscle movement stability cannot be evaluated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical measurement systems (power meter) with electromagnetic field-based measurement (electromyography electrodes) to evaluate muscle movement stability. The EMG system detects electrical signals from muscle fibers, enabling assessment of muscle coordination and stability during repetitive exercises, which mechanical sensors cannot capture.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces electromyography as an intermediary measurement method between the mechanical motion and the muscle activation. By measuring the electrical signals generated by muscle contraction through EMG electrodes, the system provides indirect but comprehensive information about muscle movement stability, bridging the gap between mechanical motion analysis and physiological function.
2Reliability
If electromyography data is processed to provide feedback on muscle movement, then muscle coordination stability can be evaluated, but the complexity of data processing increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the EMG data processing into distinct functional modules: signal acquisition, signal processing, feature extraction (power index, sequence index, time index), and feedback generation. Each module handles specific aspects of the data, making the overall system more manageable and easier to implement while maintaining comprehensive evaluation capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms complex EMG signals into simplified evaluation parameters (power index for amplitude stability, sequence index for temporal pattern stability, time index for rhythm stability). By converting raw signal data into these indexed parameters, the system reduces processing complexity while preserving the essential information needed for reliability evaluation.
Data Source
AI summary
An electromyography processing apparatus includes an electromyography acquiring unit configured to generate electromyography data indicating the time course of an electromyography acquired from an electrode set on a predetermined muscle of an exerciser performing a repetitive exercise, and an evaluation unit configured to calculate and output a reproducibility index indicating the reproducibility of the repetitive exercise from the reproducibility of a transition of the electromyography in the repetitive exercise.