Muscle Fatigue Assessment Using Recursive Electrostimulation Charge Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing muscle fatigue determination methods are inaccurate and unreliable due to variations in muscle response to electrostimulation, instrument sensitivity limitations, and subject-specific factors, and they can cause injury and require significant muscle effort.
Innovation Solution
A method involving electrostimulation at varying frequencies, setting an electric charge and muscular force target interval, and recursively adjusting the electric charge based on muscle response to ensure accurate and comfortable muscle fatigue determination.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If maximum voluntary contraction test is performed to assess muscle fatigue, then muscle fatigue can be identified, but the subject is put at risk of injury and the test cannot be reproduced several times
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of asking the subject to voluntarily contract the muscle to maximum (which risks injury), the invention applies electrical stimulation to the muscle to induce contraction. This inverts the approach from voluntary maximum effort to electrically-induced controlled contraction, eliminating injury risk while still enabling muscle fatigue assessment through force measurement.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the mechanical/voluntary contraction system with an electrical stimulation system. By using electrical signals to trigger muscle contraction rather than relying on voluntary neural activation, the system achieves controlled, repeatable muscle activation without the risks associated with maximum voluntary effort.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If electrostimulation at different frequencies is used to determine muscle fatigue, then injury risk is eliminated, but measurement accuracy is reduced due to instrument sensitivity limits and subject-specific variations
Solution Approach 1:
The invention measures force at multiple electrostimulation frequencies (e.g., 10 Hz, 50 Hz, 100 Hz, 200 Hz) and uses the pattern of force responses across these frequency parameters to determine muscle fatigue. By analyzing how force varies with frequency rather than relying on absolute force values, the system achieves accurate fatigue detection that is independent of instrument sensitivity limits and subject-specific baseline variations.
3Reliability
If maximum voluntary contraction test is used, then muscle fatigue can be identified, but the test induces significant muscle fatigue affecting subsequent results
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses periodic electrical stimulation at controlled frequencies to assess muscle fatigue rather than a single maximum voluntary contraction. The electrical stimulation can be applied in repeated sessions with appropriate rest intervals, enabling multiple assessments over time without inducing cumulative fatigue that would affect subsequent tests.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The method provides reliable and accurate muscle fatigue assessment without subject risk, independent of execution context, and is suitable for various applications including sports training and rehabilitation.
Implementation Method 1
electrostimulating the muscle with an isolated pulse at the electric charge; determining a force developed by the muscle in response to the electrostimulation
Data Source
AI summary
A muscle fatigue determination method including a step of electrostimulating a muscle at an electric charge at different frequencies. The electric charge is determined recursively in order to generate reliable and accurate forces of the muscle in response to the electrostimulation. The method further includes the steps of determining these forces and a muscle fatigue based on them.