title: Microcomputer system for the analysis of muscle function.
abstract: Though skeletal muscle function has recently been increasingly studied, a system for routine clinical examination in patients is not widely available. A microcomputer based system has been developed for the measurement and analysis of force-frequency characteristics, relaxation rate, fatiguability and endurance in the adductor pollicis muscle. The mobile system consists of a modified displacement transducer fitted with a linear-output Hall-effect sensor, a specially designed signal processing unit and a microcomputer for control of both the electrical stimulus and a suite of menu-driven, user-interactive programs. One hundred normal volunteers have been studied to produce a normal database for comparison with malnourished surgical patients. The system compares favourably with other systems in use for objective measurement of skeletal muscle function and introduces a refined technique for evaluating endurance.
mesh_terms: D001698:Biomedical Engineering; D003201:Computers; D006225:Hand / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008838:Microcomputers; D009132:Muscles / Q000502:physiology*