Javier Navallas;Lucia Biurrun;Cristina Mariscal;Silvia Recalde-Villamayor;Armando Malanda;Javier Rodríguez-Falces
{"title":"Motor Neuron Loss Detection Based on EMG Probability Density Function Shape Descriptors","authors":"Javier Navallas;Lucia Biurrun;Cristina Mariscal;Silvia Recalde-Villamayor;Armando Malanda;Javier Rodríguez-Falces","doi":"10.1109/TNSRE.2025.3599103","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"EMG interference pattern analysis is routinely used in the assessment of motor neuron loss. We propose systematizing interference pattern analysis by recording an isometric ramp contraction of a muscle, from minimum to maximum activation level. Three EMG probability density function (PDF) shape descriptors are then employed to quantify the PDF evolution assessing EMG filling through contraction: filling factor, negentropy, and kurtosis. The three filling curves are fitted with an exponential model, and the decay constant parameters are employed to obtain a feature vector that characterizes the EMG filling behavior of the muscle. Results show a tendency of the filling curves to shorten and not reach saturation when neuropathy is simulated, and a subsequent dependency of the decay constant parameters with neuropathy progression. We demonstrate, with a set of real signals and through simulation experiments, the ability of the features to be used by a classification system to detect motor neuron loss. With the set of real signals (from 40 subjects with L5 radiculopathy and 40 healthy controls), results show a 0.86 sensibility and 0.84 specificity, indicating a promising performance when incorporated into clinical decision support systems.","PeriodicalId":13419,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering","volume":"33 ","pages":"3189-3200"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2000,"publicationDate":"2025-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=11124927","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering","FirstCategoryId":"5","ListUrlMain":"https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11124927/","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ENGINEERING, BIOMEDICAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
EMG interference pattern analysis is routinely used in the assessment of motor neuron loss. We propose systematizing interference pattern analysis by recording an isometric ramp contraction of a muscle, from minimum to maximum activation level. Three EMG probability density function (PDF) shape descriptors are then employed to quantify the PDF evolution assessing EMG filling through contraction: filling factor, negentropy, and kurtosis. The three filling curves are fitted with an exponential model, and the decay constant parameters are employed to obtain a feature vector that characterizes the EMG filling behavior of the muscle. Results show a tendency of the filling curves to shorten and not reach saturation when neuropathy is simulated, and a subsequent dependency of the decay constant parameters with neuropathy progression. We demonstrate, with a set of real signals and through simulation experiments, the ability of the features to be used by a classification system to detect motor neuron loss. With the set of real signals (from 40 subjects with L5 radiculopathy and 40 healthy controls), results show a 0.86 sensibility and 0.84 specificity, indicating a promising performance when incorporated into clinical decision support systems.
期刊介绍:
Rehabilitative and neural aspects of biomedical engineering, including functional electrical stimulation, acoustic dynamics, human performance measurement and analysis, nerve stimulation, electromyography, motor control and stimulation; and hardware and software applications for rehabilitation engineering and assistive devices.