Information analysis on electromyograms acquired using monopolar needle, concentric needle and surface electrodes

Abstract

Electromyography (EMG) is an effective procedure for recording and analyzing the electrical signals generated from the muscles. The acquired signals are used to diagnose various neuromuscular diseases such as myopathy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis, myasthenia gravis, spinal muscular atrophy etc. In this work, the spectral entropy of EMG signals and the image entropy of spectrograms of EMG signals acquired using three different electrodes (monopolar needle electrodes, concentric needle electrodes and surface electrodes) have been compared to analyze the information content of the signals measured using the three different electrode types. Results demonstrate that, the spectral entropy of EMG signals acquired using concentric needle electrodes is higher when compared to the spectral entropy of EMG signals measured using surface electrodes and monopolar needle electrodes. Further, the image entropy of EMG signals measured using monopolar needle electrodes is higher when compared to the image entropy of EMG signals acquired using concentric needle electrodes and surface electrodes. This work appears to be of high clinical significance since the efficient recording of EMG signals is essential for design and development of diagnostic tools for neuromuscular disorders.