title: Epidermal electronics for electromyography: An application to swallowing therapy.
abstract: Head and neck cancer treatment alters the anatomy and physiology of patients. Resulting swallowing difficulties can lead to serious health concerns. Surface electromyography (sEMG) is used as an adjuvant to swallowing therapy exercises. sEMG signal collected from the area under the chin provides visual biofeedback from muscle contractions and is used to help patients perform exercises correctly. However, conventional sEMG adhesive pads are relatively thick and difficult to effectively adhere to a patient's altered chin anatomy, potentially leading to poor signal acquisition in this population. Here, the emerging technology of epidermal electronics is introduced, where ultra-thin geometry allows for close contouring of the chin. The two objectives of this study were to (1) assess the potential of epidermal electronics technology for use with swallowing therapy and (2) assess the significance of the reference electrode placement. This study showed comparative signals between the new epidermal sEMG patch and the conventional adhesive patches used by clinicians. Furthermore, an integrated reference yielded optimal signal for clinical use; this configuration was more robust to head movements than when an external reference was used. Improvements for future iterations of epidermal sEMG patches specific to day-to-day clinical use are suggested.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Reconstructive Sciences in Medicine (iRSM), Misericordia Community Hospital, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Alberta, 8205 114St 2-70 Corbett Hall, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: Gabriela
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Constantinescu
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical, Computer, and Energy Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
authors.forename: Jae-Woong
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Jeong
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: Xinda
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Alberta, 8205 114St 2-70 Corbett Hall, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: Dylan K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Scott
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, and Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
authors.forename: Kyung-In
authors.initials: KI
authors.lastname: Jang
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Electronic address: chung.hj13@ualberta.ca.
authors.forename: Hyun-Joong
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, and Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA. Electronic address: jrogers@illinois.edu.
authors.forename: John A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Rogers
authors.affiliation: Institute for Reconstructive Sciences in Medicine (iRSM), Misericordia Community Hospital, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Alberta, 8205 114St 2-70 Corbett Hall, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: Jana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rieger
mesh_terms: D003679:Deglutition; D004566:Electrodes; D004576:Electromyography / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004817:Epidermis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans
keywords: Epidermal electronics; Head and neck cancer; Surface electromyography; Swallowing therapy