Definitions

• the invention pertains to the general field of electro-diagnostic equipment and more particularly to an integrated movement analyzing system that combines ele ⁇ trorayography with range of motion and functional capacity measurements, to provide a non-invasive and non-loading method for analyzing myofacial injuries and repetitive stress injuries.
• CTS Carpal tunnel syndrome
• RSI repetitive stress injuries
• the inventive integrated movement analyzer is a portable, non-loading electronic instrument that simultaneously monitors muscle activity with silver-silver chloride standard ECG electrodes, cervical, thoracic and lumbar flexion, extension, right rotation, left rotation, right lateral movement, and left lateral movement as well as monitoring the extremities.
• the IMA also simultaneously combines a non-loading load cell and strain gauge that with a 5 computer and software correlates the weight lifted by pulling on the strain gage.
• the EMG, Range of Motion and FCE functional capacity evaluation
• the IMA is portable and can be battery operated to _ Q allow the patient to be monitored anywhere including at the work sight, at home and performing any activity even their job, no matter what or where it i ⁇ .
• the IMA also complies with the new ADA law, and includes a special device that allows for heart rate in the filter 5 system. This is important because when heart rate is found in the paraspinal muscles over the EMG, in the upper trapezius and in the low back, the amplitude of the ECG activity that overlaps the EMG correlates to disc pathology or spinal changes on an MRI. Since the 0 IMA monitors active range of motion, it takes the MRI one step further and can help determine if the monitored ailment, can in fact, be treated with conservative methods that do not involve surgery.
• the 5,042,505 Mayer, et al patent discloses an electronic device for measuring relative angular positional displacement and angular range of motion for body segments and articulating joints of the human skeleton.
• the device has a hand-held interface unit which is placed against the body segment or joint to be tested.
• Mounted within the housing of the interface unit is a shaft with a pendulum at one end and an optical encoder at the other.
• the optical encoder generates an electrical signal representa ive of the amount of rotation of the shaft.
• the generated signal is fed to a microprocessor which processes the information and can produce on a display the change in angular position relative to initial angular position or the angular range of motion of the body segment or articulating joint.
• the 4,688,581 Moss patent discloses an apparatus and a method for non-invasive in vivo determination of muscle fiber composition.
• the method includes the steps of electrically stimulating a chosen muscle; determining the stimulation current; measuring the electrical potential of the muscle; the contraction time; and the force produced by the contraction; and by intercorrelating the data by multiple regression, determining the type, percentage and size of muscle fibers within the muscle stimulated.
• Apparatus for determining the muscle composition includes a muscle stimulator of controlled voltage; electromyogram equipment; and a force transducer providing a tension curve as well as force measurements.
• the 4,667,513 Konno patent discloses an apparatus and a method for estimating the degree of the fatigue and pain of muscles.
• the apparatus composes subjects of different weights on the same basis by deriving the variation in the muscular strength such as the dorsal muscular strength, shoulder muscular strength, the grasping power, and the like.
• An analogous electric signal integrated the muscular output on one hand, and provides an integrated value of the ele ⁇ tromyogramraatic amplitude by processing the voltage induced from the muscle to be tested through an electromyogram amplitude and a waveform processor. The ratio between these integrated values, after correcting the ratio with a weight/raus ⁇ ul ⁇ r strength coefficient is digitally displayed.
• the integrated movement analyzing system combines electromyogr ⁇ phy with range of motion and functional capacity measurements to provide doctors and other clinical practitioners with a method for accurately analyzing myofacial injuries.
• the system in its basic form is comprised of an integrated movement analyzer (IMA) that functions in combination with a surface electromyogr ⁇ phy (SEMG) cable having a set of non- invasive SEMG electrodes that attach to a patient, a range-of-motion arm (ROMA) , and a functional capacity sensor (FCS).
• IMA integrated movement analyzer
• SEMG surface electromyogr ⁇ phy
• FCS functional capacity sensor
• the IMA is a portable, non-loading electronic instrument that incorporates a surface ele ⁇ tromyography section that receives and processes the signals produced by the set of SEMG electrodes; a range of motion section that processes the signals from the ROMA; and a functional capacity section that processes the signals from the FCS.
• the signals from all the sections are routed to an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) that further processes the signals before they are applied to the computer.
• ADC analog-to-digital converter
• the IMA has the capability to sample up to 32 channels of the SEMG cable, six channels of the ROMA signals and one channel of the FCS. All the signals are simultaneously measured at sampling speeds of up to 10 KHz for testing time frames .
• the ROMA is a non-load bearing electro-mechanical device that includes three articulated sections.
• the IMA When performing back protocol testing, the ROMA is attached from the patient's shoulder to the patient's lower back by use of ⁇ shoulder harness and waist belt. When performing cervical testing, the ROMA is attached from the patient's head to the upper back by use of a cervical cap and the shoulder harness.
• the FCS produces a signal that is representative of a pulling force exerted by the patient.
• the FCS is comprised of ⁇ strain gauge mounted on a plate on which the patient stands. Attached to the stain gauge is a pull cable having attached to its upper end a handle grip. When the grip is pulled by the patient, the stain gauge measures the patient's pulling force which is analogous to the patient's lifting power.
• the IMA also includes a lead failure detection section having a circuit that causes a specific LED to illuminate when a corresponding specific lead failure has occurred from a SEMG electrode.
• the simultaneous monitoring of the muscle groups allowed by the system measures muscle tone, muscle spasms, muscle activity and response, as well as muscle recovery and fatigue. This is accomplished for each muscle group monitored while several muscles are being monitored at the same time above and below the area of complaint. This allows the analyst with the system, to outline a specific therapy program for the problem and traces the referred pain problem. With the site specific treatment protocol, physical therapy is reduced to 50-60 percent less sessions, decreases costs, treatment time and directs the specific type of treatment like electrical stimulation, ultra sound massage or nerve block to a specific location. Thus, medical costs related to treatment and use of medication are greatly reduced.
• o measures compliance without the patient's cooperation. Because the range of motion, FCS are combined with specific EMG readings, the system can tell if the patient could not complete the range of motion or the lifting task. This is very important to the in ⁇ uranoe industry to reduce and defer fraudulent worker's compensation and personal injury claims and reduce long term disability.
• o includes a specific protocol for carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) that monitors the testing and range of motion readings for all cervical and upper extremity muscle groups. This interactive protocol with the system allows doctors to look at the relationship between muscle groups and to diagnose if the problem is cervical, CTS or cubital tunnel. The system also allows doctors to determine if it is a repetitive stress injury.
• CTS carpal tunnel syndrome
• o is beneficial to sports in that it can tell an athlete what muscle groups to work out with what procedure and for how long before the muscle fatigues; thus, it maximizes the work-out period without causing injury.
• o is beneficial for pre-eraployraent screening to have a "finger print" of muscle activity if there is a subsequent injury and with ADA laws to determine how the work site needs to be altered to comply with the law .
• o can diagnose soft tissue injury. o can tell if disc pathology is present and if it is clinically significant, o can provide site-specific treatment protocols, o can eliminate the need for most ⁇ arpal tunnel and cubital tunnel surgeries.
• FIGURE 1 is ⁇ block diagram of the overall of the integrated movement analyzing system.
• FIGURE 2 is a block diagram showing the interface between the integrated movement analyzer, the computer and a patient having the range of motion arm attached to a patient by means of a cervical cap and shoulder harness.
• FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the range of motion arm.
• FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of a patient that has attached ⁇ range of motion arm between a cervical c p and a shoulder harness, and a shoulder harness and a waist bel .
• FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of the shoulder harness .
• FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of the waist belt.
• FIGURE 7 is a perspective view of a cervical cap.
• FIGURE 8 is a perspective view of a typical functional capacity sensor.
• FIGURE 9 is an overall block diagram of the integrated movement analyzer.
• FIGURE 10 is a block diagram of the surface electromyography section.
• FIGURE 11 i ⁇ a block diagram of the lead failure detection section.
• FIGURE 12 is a block diagram of the range of motion section.
• FIGURE 13 is a block diagram of the functional capacity sensing section.
• FIGURE 14 is a block diagram of the IMA power supply.
• FIGURE 15 is a schematic diagram of the instrumentation amplifier circuit and the lead-fail input circuit .
• FIGURE 16A-16K are computer flow diagrams of the patient's data collection software program.
• FIGURE 17A and FIGURE 17B are computer flow diagrams of the patient's data plotting software program.
• the preferred embodiment of the integrated movement analyzing system 10 as shown in FIGURES 1-14, is comprised of the following seven major elements: a surface electromyography (SEMG) cable assembly 12, a range of motion arm (ROMA) 14, that operates in combination with a shoulder harness 40, a waist belt 42, and a cervical cap 44; a functional capacity sensor (FCS) 16, an integrated movement analyzer 18, and a computer 34 that operates with software 36.
• SEMG surface electromyography
• ROMA range of motion arm
• FCS functional capacity sensor
• FCS integrated movement analyzer 18
• computer 34 that operates with software 36.
• the overall integrated movement analyzing system 10 is shown in FIGURES 1 and 2.
• the integrated movement analyzer (IMA) 18 is the focal point of the system 10 and receives inputs from the surface electromyography (SEMG) cable assembly 12, the range of motion arm (ROMA) 14 and the functional capacity sensor (FCS) 16; all of which are connected to a human patient 80.
• the output of the IMA 18 is provided to the computer 34 which produces comparative analytical data which is primarily in the form of graphic plots .
• the surface electromyograph (SEMG) cable assembly 12 as shown in FIGURE 2, consists of a plurality of paired SEMG leads having a first end 12A and a second end 12B.
• the first end terminates at a multipin cable connector that preferably consists of a male twist-lock connector 12C that is sized to be attached to a mating female connector 18A located at the IMA 18.
• the two leads of the second end 12B each terminate with a finger-operated spring electrode attachment clip 12D.
• FIGURE 2 only three paired SEMG leads are shown for illustrative purposes; in the actual cable design, the paired leads ⁇ an number from 8 to 32.
• the SEMG electrode pads 13, which preferably consists of standard silver-silver chloride electrodes, include two clip attachment protrusions that interface with two skin contact points. To the protrusions are releasably attached the electrode attachment clips 12D s shown in FIGURE 2. The two skin ⁇ ontaot points are adapted to be attached to selected areas of a human patient 80 as also shown in FIGURE 2. The electrodes produce a differential analog signal that is representative of the resistance between the two skin contact points of the patient.
• the cable assembly 12 is manufactured from light weight materials to prevent or at least minimize the dislodgraent of the clips 12D attached to the SEMG electrode pads 13 and is manufactured in selectable lengths that range from 4 to 40 feet.
• the cable wiring consist of individual, shielded coax wires that are twisted in pairs for each channel. To eliminate ground loops, each wire shield terminates t an instrumentation amplifier circuit 20A which is the input circuit of the integrated movement analyzer 18 which is described infra.
• the cable assembly also includes a single, non-coax wire 12C that is used as a signal ground for setting the ground reference from the patient 80 to the integrated movement analyzer 18.
• the range of motion arm (ROMA) 14 as shown in
• FIGURE 3 includes electrical circuit means and mechanical means for producing range of motion analog signals representative of the angular distance produced from selected areas of the patient 80.
• the mechanical means is encompassed in a non-load bearing device that includes an upper knuckle 14A having an attachment pin J3
• the upper knuckle is designed to rotate in three directions to measure up and down, side to side, and rotary movements of the patient's shoulders for back measurements or the top of the patient's head for cervical movements in the X, Y and Z planes.
• the middle junction rotates in an angular motion to measure the angular distance in the X-plane
• the lower knuckle rotates in two directions to measure the angular distance in the Y-plane as well as the rotation in the Z-plane.
• the ROMA When performing lower back protocol testing, the ROMA is attached between the shoulder harness 40 and a waist belt 42 as shown in FIGURES 4 and 6.
• the ROMA 14 as also shown in FIGURE 4 is attached from the top of the patient's head to the patient's upper back, by means of a cervical cap 44 s shown in FIGURE 7 and the shoulder harness 40 as shown in FIGURE 6.
• the ROMA 14 is shown attached in two places in FIGURE 4. However, in actual testing, the ROMA 14 i ⁇ attached to either the cervical cap 44 and the shoulder harness 40, or from the shoulder harness 40 to the waist belt 42.
• the shoulder harness 40 as shown in FIGURE 5,i9 typically comprised of a right shoulder support 40A, a left shoulder support 40B, a horizontal back strap 40E and a ROMA attachment structure 40G.
• the right and left shoulder supports 40A,40B each have an upper section 40C and a lower section 40D.
• the lower sections are looped under the upper arms and are adjustably attached to the upper section by an attachment means 40F that allows the harne ⁇ B 40 to be adjusted to fit the anatomy of the patient 80 undergoing the testing as shown in FIGURE 4.
• the preferred attachment means consists of a complimentary hook and loop fastener 40F as shown in FIGURE 5.
• the horizontal back strap 40E is integrally attached to the inward edges of the back of the right and left shoulder supports 40A,40B across the upper back of the patient protruding outward from the center of the back strap 40E is the ROMA attachment structure 40G.
• This structure includes a pin cavity 40H that is sized to accept an attachment pin 14E located on the ROMA 14.
• the waist belt 42 as shown in FIGURE 6, consists of an attachment means 42A that allows the belt to be adjustably adjusted across the waist of the patient 80 undergoing testing as shown in FIGURE 4.
• the preferred belt attachment means comprises a hook and loop fastener 42A as shown in FIGURE 6.
• Protruding outward from the back of the belt 42 is a ROMA attachment structure 40B.
• This structure includes a pin cavity 40C that is sized to accept an attachment pin 14E located on the ROMA 14.
• the cervical cap 44 as shown in FIGURE 7 consists basically of a head band 44A having a means for being adjusted to fit the head of the patient undergoing testing as shown in FIGURE 4. Across the head band 44A is attached a head support 44C that includes a means for being adjustably attached to the patient's head.
• the preferred adjustment means is a complimentary hook and loop fastener 44B.
• a ROMA attachment structure 44D On the center top of the head band 44C is a ROMA attachment structure 44D as shown in FIGURE 7. This structure also includes a pin cavity 44E that is sized to accept an attachment pin 14E located on the ROMA 14.
• the cervical cap 44 may also include an adjustable skull mount 44F that has a movable chin support 44G and resilient head cushions 44G located on the inside of the head band 44A.
• the ROMA's 14 electrical circuit means is comprised of a set of potentiometers. The upper knuckle has three potentiometers, the middle junction has one potentiometer, and the lower knuckles has two potentiometers.
• the potentiometers provide six channels of range of motion analog signals.
• the range of motion analog signals are in the form of voltage levels ranging from 0 to 5-volts d-c; where 0-volts is representative of 0-degrees of angular displacement and 5-volts d-c is representative of 270-degrees of angular displacement.
• the analog signals are applied to the IMA 18 through connector 14E of the cable 14D which attaches to IMA connector 18B as described infra.
• FCS functional capacity sensor
• the mechanical mean ⁇ for a preferred embodiment as shown in FIGURE 8 is comprised of a strain gauge 50 mounted on a flat metal plate 52 on which the patient stands. Attached to the metal is a pull cable 54 having a first end 54A that is attached to the metal plate 52 and a second end that 54B has attached a two-handed grip 54C. When the grip is pulled by the patient 80, the strain gauge 50 measures the pulling force of the patient which is analogous to the lifting power of the patient.
• the lifting force is measured by a range of d-c voltage levels that are representative of the force exerted upon the FCS 16 by the patient 80.
• the d-c voltage range from 0 to 5-volts, where 0-volts is representative of zero lbs and 5-volts d-c is representative of the specific calibration of the sensor bridge.
• the resulting differential analog d-c signals are applied through connector 52 of cable 56 to IMA connector 18C to as described infra.
• the integrated movement analyzer (IMA) 18 as shown in FIGURES 2 and 9, is a self contained unit, that i ⁇ comprised of a surface electromyography section 20 having circuit means for receiving and processing the differential analog signals from the SEMG cable assembly 12; a lead failure detection section 22 having circuit means for receiving and processing the differential analog signals from the SEMG cable assembly 12; a range of motion section 24 having circuit means for receiving and processing the analog signal from the range of motion arm 14; a functional capacity sensing section 26 having circuit means for receiving and processing the analog signals from the functional capacity sensor (FCS) 16 and an isolated power supply section 28 having circuit means for supplying the power required to operate the IMA circuits.
• FCS functional capacity sensor
• the circuit means of the IMA 18 allows the sampling of up to 32 channels of the SEMG analog signals; six channels of the motion arm analog signals and one channel of the functional capacity sensor analog signal, where all the signals are simultaneously measured at sampling speeds of up to 10 KHz at any testing time frame.
• the surface electromyography (SEMG) section 20 circuit means for receiving and processing the differential analog signals from the set of SEMG electrodes 12B, as shown in FIGURE 10, comprises: an instrumentation amplifier circuit 20A having means for detecting the resistance between the contact points of each SEMG electrodes 12A, which corresponds to the patient's skin resistance, and converting this resistance to a representative analog voltage. The analog voltage is then applied to a voltage-to- ⁇ urrent circuit 20B having circuit means for converting the analog voltage to a linear current drive signal. 5 Following the circuit 20B as shown in FIGURE 10 is an optical isolation circuit 20C that isolates the patient 80 from the system 10.
• the circuit 20C consists of an optically isolated amplifier having circuit means for converting the linear current drive signal to a voltage I Q representative of the differential analog signal from the SEMG electrodes 12A.
• the final circuit comprising the SEMG section 20 is a filtering circuit 20D that is comprised of :
• the instrumentation amplifier circuit means 20A as described above, is further comprised as shown in
• the SEMG input circuit 20A1 is comprised of an instrumentation amplifier Ul having a positive and negative input and an output.
• the input is connected across a pair of current limiting resistors Rl and R2 respectively with each resistor having an input side and an output side.
• To the resistor's input side is applied respectively, the positive and negative input signals from the SEMG electrodes.
• the resistor's output side is connected across a capacitor Cl and a network of four diodes CR1-CR4.
• the capacitor provides stability between the two inputs of the instrumentation amplifier Ul by filtering high common mode noise and the four diodes prevent static charge or over voltage from damaging the instrumentation amplifier.
• the low pass filter 20A2 is comprised of a coupling capacitor C2 having an input side and an output side. The input side is applied to the output of the instrumentation amplifier Ul and the output side is connected to the input of a 10 KHz low pass filter that filters all frequencies above 10 KHz.
• the filter consist of a series resistor R4 that is connected across a resistor R5 and a capacitor C3 that i ⁇ connected to circuit ground.
• the voltage amplifying circuit 20A3 is comprised of a voltage amplifier U2 having a positive and negative input and an output. Connected to the positive input of the amplifier U2 is the output from the low pass filter 20A2.
• the voltage amplifier U2 has a gain of at least 30. The gain is produced by a pair of voltage-dividing feedback resistors R3 and R6 that have their junction connected to the negative input of the voltage amplifier U2.
• the differential analog signals from the set of SEMG electrode 12B are also applied to a lead failure detection section 22 as shown in FIGURE 11.
• the section 22 comprises a lead-fail detection circuit 22A having means for detecting when the input from the SEMG electrodes 12B cross over a threshold differential voltage level of 2.5 volts d-c. This voltage level indicates that at least one of two electrode leads 12B has failed.
• the lead-fail detection circuit 22A produces an output digital signal that is applied to a lead-fail optically coupled circuit 22B.
• This circuit is comprised of an optical coupler that converts the digital input signal from the lead-fail detection circuit 22A to an isolated optical signal optic then back to a digital signal.
• the digital signal is applied to a set of lead-fail indicators 22C that consist of light emitting diodes (LED's) that are located on the front panel of the integrated movement analyzer as shown in FIGURE 2.
• LED's light emitting diodes
• the signal that drives the LED's is also sensed by an analog to digital converter and is monitored by the computer software program to allow the particular LED' ⁇ corresponding to the failed lead, to illuminate so that connection action can be taken to fix the problem.
• the lead-fail detection circuit 22 as described above, is further comprised, as also shown in FIGURE 15, of a lead-fail input circuit 22A1 and a comparator circuit 22A2.
• the lead-fail input circuit 22A1 is comprised of a pair of voltage amplifiers U3 and U4 each having a positive and negative input and an output. To the positive inputs is applied the positive and negative input signals respectively from the SEMG electrodes.
• the amplifiers U3 and U4 are configured as voltage followers to assure that the lead-fail detection circuit 22A does not interfere with the surface electromyography section 20.
• the comparator circuit 22A2 is comprised of a pair of amplifiers U5 and U6 each having a positive and negative input and an output. To the positive inputs are applied the outputs from the voltage amplifiers U3 and U4 respectively through input resi ⁇ tor ⁇ R9 and RIO respectively. Both the amplifiers operate with a positive feedback path that is applied through resistors Rll and R12 respectively.
• the comparator circuit further includes a bias circuit. This circuit sets a bias level at the negative inputs of the amplifiers U5 and U6, by means of a pair of resistors R13 and R14 and capacitor C4, where resistor R13 is connected to a positive voltage and capacitor C4 and resistor R14 are connected to circuit ground.
• the bias circuit assures that if the positive inputs of the amplifiers U5 and U6 drop below a specified threshold level, the output of either amplifier will change to a zero output.
• This zero output is applied to an OR logic circuit consisting of diodes CR5 and CR6 which also drops to zero to produce the digital signal that is applied to the lead-fail optically coupled circuit 22B as shown in FIGURE 11.
• the range of motion section 24 circuit means as shown in FIGURE 12, for receiving and processing the range of motion analog signals produced by the range of motion arm 14 comprises a voltage follower buffering and low-pass filtering circuit 24A having means for: (1 providing a d-c excitation voltage and an isolated ground that is applied across each of the potentiometers in the range of motion arm ( OMA) , ( 2 ) retaining the integrity of the potentiometer wiper voltage by eliminating any a- ⁇ component above 50 Hz. ⁇ I
• the functional capacity sensing section 26 ⁇ ir ⁇ uit means as shown in FIGURE 13 for receiving and processing the differential analog signals supplied by the functional ⁇ apa ⁇ ity sensor (FCS) 16 is comprised of an instrumentation amplifier circuit and sensor bridge driver voltage 26A having means for:
• the circuit 26C consists of an optically isolated amplifier having circuit means for converting the drive signal signal to a d-c voltage representative of the force exerted upon the FCS.
• the circuit 26C can be calibrated for variable outputs in a typical calibration, the d-c voltage ranges from 0 to 5-volts, where 0-volts is representative of zero lbs. and 5-volts d-c is representative of the specific calibration of the sensor bridge. «3A
• the final electronics circuit described is the power supply circuit as shown in FIGURE 14. The input to the power supply is derived from the utility
• a- ⁇ power 120-volts a- ⁇ power which is applied to a bridge rectifier and d-c filter circuit where the a-c utility power is rectified and filtered to produce a d-c voltage output.
• the system can also be designed to operate with an internal battery that is selected to produce the required d-c voltage level to operate the sytem 10.
• the d-c voltage is applied a set of d-c power regulation circuits 28B that produce: +5 volts d-c, +12 volts d-c, -12 volts d-c and -5 volts d-c. These voltages are applied: (1) directly to the system 10 circuits that are not optically isolated, and
• the ADC in the preferred embodiment is a 16 bit, 16 channel device that also includes 8 lines of digital I/O. However, multiple assemblies can be connected to provide up to 32 channels.
• the processed signals from the ADC 30 are terminated at an output connector such as an IEEE 488 interface. From the interface connector, the signals are routed through a cable assembly 32 and applied to a computer 32 shown in FIGURE 2.
• the computer 34 operates with a software program 36 as shown in the computer flow diagram included as FIGURES 16A-16 to produce the comparative analytical data representative of the patient's problem being analyzed.
• the software program 36 which is protected under registered and pending copyright registrations consists of a patient's data collection program and a patient's data plotting program.
• the patient's data collection program which is shown in the computer flow diagrams of FIGURES 16A-16K allows the selection of the following options: a) cervical/carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) protocol testing, b) extremities protocol testing, c) mid and lower back protocol testing, d) technical information covering lead setup and muscle groups, e) lead-fail integrity check, and f) return to main screen option selection.
• CTS cervical/carpal tunnel syndrome
• the data collection software program a) interfaces with a parallel interface connector, b) selects the voltage level that each channel will respond to, c) initializes the sampling frequency rate of the
• ADC selects the appropriate testing protocol, e) samples each cable lead during the test to detect if a lead failure has occurred, f) prompts the system 10 user as to the location of a lead failure, g) starts the integrated movement analyzer when the testing should begin, h) prompts the technician as to the muscle groups that the individual leads should be connected to for a given protocol, i ) prompts the technician as to the activities that the patient should be performing during the te ⁇ t cycle, j ) saves the data on hard drive at the completion of a test, k ) converts the patient's data from binary data to computer graphics, and 1 ) time and date stamps each file as data is taken,
• the patient's data plotting program which is shown in the computer flow diagrams of FIGURES 17A and 17B allows the plotting of up to forty channels of the patient's data for use on a final report.
• the data plotting software program a) generates computer plots from 1 to 40 channels of data, b) plots range of motion data and correlates this data to angular displacement, c) plots functional capacity data and correlates this data to maximum force applied to the functional capacity sensor by the patient, d) sets the testing time for the te ⁇ t being performed, and e) produces plots which include patient information, location of te ⁇ t, the test performed and the muscle groups.
• the integrated movement analyzing system is operated by application of the following steps: ⁇ ) connect the IMA 18 to ⁇ source of electrical power, b) connect the computer 34 to the IMA 18, c) connect the SEMG cable assembly 12 to the IMA and test the integrity of the SEMG cable assembly by means of the computer, d) connect the ROMA 14 to the IMA, e) prepare a patient by cleansing the area of the patient's body encompassing a muscle group pertaining to the test protocol that is to be analyzed, f) attach to each designated lead of the SEMG cable assembly 14, a SEMG electrode pad 13, g) mount said ROMA to patient, h) attach the electrode pads around the area of the selected muscle groups, as follows, i) for testing of repetitive stress injuries (RSI) protocol, attach the SEMG electrode pads to the following muscle groups bilaterally:
• RSI repetitive stress injuries
• FCS functional capacity sensor
• amplifiers U1-U6 are shown for explanatory purposes as individual discreet components. In the actual implementation of the circuit, amplifiers U1-U6 are packaged in a single integrated circuit. Hence, it is described to cover any and all modifications and forms which may come within the language and scope of the claims .

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• Measurement And Recording Of Electrical Phenomena And Electrical Characteristics Of The Living Body (AREA)
• Length Measuring Devices With Unspecified Measuring Means (AREA)
• Devices For Conveying Motion By Means Of Endless Flexible Members (AREA)

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• 1995
  • 1995-10-10 EP EP95937546A patent/EP0952784A1/en not_active Withdrawn
  • 1995-10-10 AU AU39627/95A patent/AU711074B2/en not_active Ceased

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