Computer-based clinical instrumentation for processing and analysis of electroneuromyographic signals in the upper limb

A computer-based clinical instrument was developed to simultaneously acquire, process, display, quantify and correlate electroneuromyographic (ENMG) activity in the upper limb in humans. This system was designed around AMLAB(R) analog modules and software objects called ICAMs. The system consists of a nerve stimulator block, a time domain EMG block with evoked response averaging capability, a counter block and a data storage and retrieval block. The system acquires and displays the raw electromyographic (EMG) signal in the Flexor Carpi Radialis (FCR) muscle and quantifies its root-mean-squared (RMS) value. It also acquires the elicited H-reflex and M-response and displays them along with raw EMG signals in one integrated environment. This system has been designed to study the H-reflex and M-response in the upper limb of normal subjects and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) patients. It could be easily modified to acquire, process and analyze the ENMG signals in other parts of the human body to assess the continuity and function of the sensory and motor pathways. In this paper, we present an integrated system to simultaneously measure and analyze the electroneuromyographic activities in the upper limb.