Defects in cell membrane:

Defects in the muscle cell membrane can lead to various muscular disorders, including myotonia and
muscular dystrophy:

Myotonia:

 Myotonia is a condition characterized by defects in the muscle cell membrane, often influenced
by genetics.

 In myotonic muscles, contractions persist longer than normal, and relaxation is impaired.

 An electromyogram (EMG) of myotonic muscles typically shows prolonged muscle activity, as

contraction durations are extended compared to healthy muscles.

 Underlying causes of myotonia may involve dysfunctions in acetylcholine (ACh) metabolism

within the cell membrane.

Muscular Dystrophy:

 Muscular dystrophy refers to a group of genetic disorders where muscle fibers degenerate
progressively over time.

 In these conditions, there is a gradual decline in EMG signal strength as muscle tissue
deteriorates.

 Eventually, advanced stages of muscular dystrophy may result in a total absence of EMG signals
due to extensive muscle damage and loss of function.
Processing and Feature Extraction of EMG:

overview of the sources of noise in electromyography (EMG) recordings:

1. Cross-talk from antagonist muscles: As muscles work in pairs (agonist and antagonist), it's
challenging to isolate the signal from one muscle without detecting activity from its counterpart.
This cross-talk results from the close proximity of muscles and their shared nerve pathways.

2. Low resistance in body tissue: The low resistance around muscle cells makes it easier for
surface electrodes to detect signals from multiple nearby muscle groups, further contributing to
cross-talk.

3. ECG and breathing signals: These external signals can interfere with EMG recordings, but they
can be effectively filtered using band-pass filters centered around the main frequency spectrum of
the EMG signal.

4. Motion artifact: This noise arises from unwanted movement of electrodes, wires, or muscles.
Fortunately, its frequency range (0-20Hz) allows for easy filtration using a low-pass filter.

5. Differential nature of EMG acquisition: Unlike other biomedical signals like EEG and ECG,
EMG recordings don't typically use a single reference electrode. Instead, they employ a
differential setup, which helps reduce noise during acquisition, simplifying subsequent filtering
processes.
Time Domain Analysis:

Time-domain analysis of electromyography (EMG) signals involves extracting meaningful features from
the signal to assess its clinical significance. Some standard features used for 1-D muscle signal processing
include:

1. Power distribution in specified frequency ranges: Analyzing how the power of the signal is
distributed across different frequency ranges can provide insights into muscle activity patterns.

2. Wavelet coefficients at different scales: Wavelet analysis allows for the decomposition of the
signal into different frequency components, providing information about signal characteristics at
different scales.

3. Complexity and mobility: These features quantify the complexity and mobility of the EMG
signal, which can be indicative of muscle function and health.

4. Fractal dimensions: Fractal dimensions provide information about the irregularity and
complexity of the signal, which can be useful for characterizing EMG patterns.

In addition to these general features, some specific tools are frequently used for EMG signal analysis:

Root Mean Square (RMS) analysis: RMS analysis calculates the average level of second-order
variations in the signal, providing a measure of the signal's power. This is useful for assessing muscle
fatigue, evaluating muscle strength, and assessing muscle response to mechanical resistance.

Average Rectified Value (AVR): AVR calculates the average of absolute variations in the signal,
indicating the smoothness or non-smoothness of the signal. This can provide insights into muscle
activation patterns and overall signal stability.
Frequency and Wavelet Domain Analysis:

Frequency- and wavelet-domain analysis play crucial roles in understanding electromyography (EMG)
signals:

Frequency Domain Analysis:

 The typical frequency spectrum of EMG signals ranges from 50 to 500Hz, with maximum energy
concentrated between 70 and 300Hz.

 To separate EMG signals from noise effectively, a band-pass filter with a passband of 20–500Hz
is often employed.

 Changes in the frequency spectrum during muscle contraction and fatigue indicate the muscle's
status. Initially, higher frequencies dominate, but as fatigue sets in, the power spectrum shifts
towards lower frequencies.

Wavelet Domain Analysis:

 Wavelet analysis offers advantages in detecting changes in EMG wave patterns, especially during
stimulated recordings.

 Different contraction modes (e.g., rapid vs. slow initiation) exhibit distinct EMG patterns,
detectable through wavelet analysis.

 Wavelet analysis helps identify expected patterns in healthy and abnormal cases, decompose
signals, and detect delays in response to stimulation.

 Detecting delays in motor unit response times aids in assessing the state, size, and density of
motor units involved in neuromuscular tasks.

 Various wavelet types, such as Daubechies wavelets, are utilized to reveal different aspects of
signal structure and elaborate on the muscle recruitment process.