Abstract

An electrophysiological phenomenon running along the spine, referred to as Network Spinal Analysis (NSA) wave, is analyzed from the “inverse” viewpoint of constructing the traveling and stationary wave phenomena from the surface electromyographic (sEMG) signals recorded at various points along the paraspinal muscles. Statistical correlation techniques are used to identify the propagation delay and phase shift of the phenomenon from one point to another along the spine. Since the sEMG signals consist of a great many “bursts,” the wave is most easily detected from some specific subband signals of the Daubechies wavelet decomposition. As a therapeutic application, it is shown that partial recovery from spinal cord injury can be assessed by the correlation between the sEMG signals on both sides of the injury. More fundamentally, for a quadriplegic subject who has had some recovery, the wave appears to travel through the injury area, but does not quite settle in a stationary pattern as it would be in a normal subject.

Jonckheere E, Lohsoonthorn P. Spatio-temporal Analysis of an Electrophysiological Wave Phenomenon. Paper presented at: 16th International Symposium on Mathematical Theory of Networks and Systems (MTNS 2004); 2004 Jul 5-9; Leuven, Belgium.

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