Hochauflösende Oberflächen-Elektromyographie der Gesichtsmuskulatur bei gesunden Erwachsenen unter Verwendung eines drahtlosen Multikanal-Klebefolien-Systems

Introduction

Facial electromyography (EMG) is crucial in clinical and research settings for analyzing muscle activity, diagnosing neuromuscular disorders, and assessing treatment efficacy. Traditional setups require multiple electrodes, rendering them complex and time-consuming. This study evaluates a novel wireless adhesive electrode array for its efficiency in distinguishing facial movements.

Material and methods

Thirty-seven healthy adults, excluding those with facial neurological issues, performed 11 facial exercises standardized through video instructions. A wireless surface EMG (sEMG) system with a 16-channel electrode mask captured data. Data were captured via a wireless data acquisition unit, filtered, and analyzed using linear mixed effects models, with EMG activity visualized through topographical heatmaps.

Results

The wireless system differentiated 82% of facial exercises using averaged data across three runs. Specific exercises, such as forced eye closure and lip puckering, showed overlap in EMG patterns. Snarling exhibited the highest muscle activation, while resting and gentle eye closure had the lowest. Muscle activation generally decreased with repeated exercises. Channels showed distinct activation patterns, with channel 8 notably active during nose wrinkling and channel 0 during lip puckering. The system provided consistent results across multiple runs. Muscle activation generally decreased with repeated exercises.

Discussion

The sEMG system demonstrated reliable discrimination of facial movements, comparable to traditional methods but with enhanced ease of use. Its design allows quick application, suitable for repeated sessions. Although not directly compared to standard setups, the system"s performance supports its use in psychosocial and medical research.

Yael Hanein declares fnancial interest in X-trodes Ltd., which holds the licensing rights of the EMG skin technology used in this study. This does not alter her adherence to scientifc and publication policies on sharing data and materials. All other authors have no conflict of interest to declare: The other authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential confict of interest.