Extraction of information on muscle control during movements

Objective

Electrical properties of muscles have been under intense scientific and clinical investigation for decades. From the neurophysiologic point of view, it is essential to achieve a deeper understanding of neuromuscular alterations and of their relation to work condition, immobilization, overtraining and microgravity. Measurable indicators of incipient degeneration, effectiveness of treatment, and preventive actions are required to practice evidence based medicine, rehabilitation and training of athletes.

Technical difficulties associated with recording and analysis of electromyograms have limited the accuracy with which the characteristics of individual motor units can be established during movements. The existing information extraction techniques have mainly been applied to the isometric muscle contractions, with the muscle geometry kept constant during the measurement session. On the other hand, the contractions of human muscles are almost always dynamic, with the muscle moving with respect to the skin.

The main objective of the iMOVE project is to design and implement automated signal processing techniques capable of extracting the information about the individual motor units from the dynamic surface electromyograms recorded during controlled dynamic contractions of skeletal muscles, to study the feasibility, efficiency and repeatability of information extraction during movements, and to define the recommendations for sensors, sensor placement and signal processing in dynamic conditions. Possible collateral applications of the proposed project include objective assessment of effectiveness of rehabilitation and training of athletes, prevention of work-related neuromuscular disorders and diseases, and monitoring of the musculoskeletal deterioration in the microgravity environment.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.

• agricultural sciences agricultural biotechnology
• medical and health sciences clinical medicine physiotherapy
• engineering and technology electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering electronic engineering signal processing
• engineering and technology electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering electronic engineering sensors
• natural sciences mathematics pure mathematics geometry

Keywords

Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)

• bioengineering
• decomposition
• electromyography
• information extraction techniques
• signal processing

Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

• FP7-PEOPLE - Specific programme "People" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013)

Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

• PEOPLE-2007-2-2.ERG - Marie Curie Action: "European Reintegration Grants"

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

FP7-PEOPLE-ERG-2008
See other projects for this call

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

MC-ERG - European Re-integration Grants (ERG)

Coordinator