Quantifying the Stiffness of Biceps Muscle Using Accelerometer

Abstract

With increasing awareness of health benefits from incorporating exercise for a more physically active lifestyle, a natural increase in injuries to connective tissues within the body is inevitable. Determining the condition of these tissues by current imaging techniques is expensive, difficult, and not entirely reliable. Using a Modally Hand Impact Hammer and 3D accelerometers, shear wave propagation from surface vibrations of superficial skeletal muscle was measured. The use of accelerometers in this technique contribute some advantages over other techniques. The ability to mount the accelerometers directly to subject area provides greater flexibility for the subject and the investigator. Utilizing this method provides low cost, non-invasive, reliable and repeatable measure of material characteristics. An increase in shear wave propagation and Modulus of Elasticity were observed in 10 subjects as the number of excited muscle fibers within the biceps brachii increased (muscular contraction) and decreased lower than initial resting values post muscular contraction. This technique may prove more practical in clinical settings for swift in-house or on-site assessments of muscle stiffness to help determine the condition. In a broader relationship, this process further demonstrates that techniques developed through mechanical engineering are beneficial to the health and biology fields.