Correlation of human carpal motion and electromyogram

Abstract

In this experimental study, we have examined the correlation between a human carpal motion and a surface electromyogram. The carpal motion patterns have been identified and the main muscles involved in the carpal motion have been determined by investigating the anatomical structure of a carpal. The torque acting against the carpal motion has been applied by using a device for carpal rehabilitation training, and the surface electromyogram signal corresponding to the torque at the main muscles has been measured The root-mean-square (RMS) magnitude of the surface electromyogram signal has been calculated and used to analyze the correlation between the surface electromyogram signal and carpal motion. The experimental results have proved that for carpal torque values below 0.1 Nm, the RMS magnitude of the surface electromyogram signal is linearly proportional to the carpal torque magnitude and that the carpal torque magnitude is linearly proportional to the cross-sectional area of the carpal muscles. Further, the analysis of the contribution of each muscle to the carpal motion has shown that the contribution of the most dominant muscle is consistently 60% These three results can be applied to develop more sophisticated devices or robots for carpal rehabilitation training. © 2010 The Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers.