Wireless Measuring System with Wavelet Denoising for Filipino Maximum Bite Force and Orofacial Muscle Surface EMG

Masticatory forces play an essential role both in the fields of dentistry and nutrition especially since they help balance the operation of the stomatognathic system of a person. The measurement and analysis of the maximum bite force (MBF) have not been established in the Philippines. This calls for the design and implementation of an electronic sensor system capable of measuring the MBF of Filipinos. In this study, thirty subjects were asked to apply maximum occlusal force on the force sensors and the corresponding temporalis and masseter muscle surface EMG (sEMG) measurements were obtained using a pair of metal dry electrode sEMG sensors. The analog voltage measurements were converted to their respective digital values using a microcontroller and were transmitted to a coordinator Xbee module connected to a personal computer. The Limiting Form Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used to determine the normality of the wavelet denoised data. The highest observed MBF was from the left molar which had a mean value of 191.69N with a standard deviation of 15.99N. The MBF data sets were found to have strong positive linear correlation with the temporalis muscle sEMG as suggested by the computed Pearson's correlation coefficients. The highest computed correlation coefficient was 98.19% at 5% significance level for the incisor MBF and right temporalis muscle sEMG data set.