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MUSCLE PATTERN RECOGNITION (MPR) | |||
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MPR is a non-invasive, proprietary technology platform that objectively analyzes muscle recruitment patterns of the neck and back - the coordinated engagement of muscle groups in order to perform specific body movements. We believe that the MPR test results provide comprehensive information regarding those muscle recruitment patterns that can assist the healthcare professional in the evaluation and treatment of neck and back injuries and illnesses. The results of an MPR evaluation are presented in a detailed report that we believe provides objective, clinically relevant evidence on the status of underlying biomechanical and neuromuscular integrity, or the overall health of the neck and back. We believe that the capabilities of the MPR System are unique and that the system addresses an unmet market need for an objective, evidence-based test for the use of physicians and other health care professionals to better assess and manage patients with impaired musculoskeletal function. We believe the MPR System supports the cost-containment and risk management goals of insurers, Workers’ Compensation carriers, self-insured employers and managed care providers by providing objective evidence to help control the soaring health care costs associated with neck and back injuries. It is well understood that the neuromuscular behavior of muscle systems is a generic representation of the underlying integrity of the biomechanical system and its structures. In other words, specific aspects of muscle behavior can be used as an indicator of overall health or underlying clinical dysfunction of the regions and systems in question. In this way, we believe the MPR System could serve as a ‘lab test’ much like blood pressure or body temperature is an indicator of underlying systemic dysfunction of the various structures and systems involved. It is these principles that have been incorporated into the MPR test and that form the basis of a unique system that measures the breakdown of the functional relationships between muscles in a given movement. By comparing the relationships of these muscle interactions, the standardized protocol of movements that makes up the MPR test provides the ability to compare patients to a proprietary reference database of typical muscle activation patterns of able-bodied, pain-free subjects. When patients replicate the same carefully administered, standardized movements performed by the subjects in the database accurate, reliable comparisons are possible. The MPR System is a clinical assessment tool that statistically and mathematically analyzes unique aspects of muscle behavior for specific functional movements. Test results of an MPR assessment are based on the simultaneous measurement of surface electromyography (sEMG) signals produced by neck and back-related muscle groups during the execution of distinct body movements (an MPR Test). A patient's readings are digitized and processed by a proprietary data analysis system that compares the patient's activation patterns with those produced by able-bodied, pain-free subjects in our proprietary normative database. The test results can also be used as a baseline measure preceding therapy for tracking the progress of rehabilitation.
The MPR System consists of three integrated components:
The MPR Data Acquisition Device The MPR Data Acquisition Device consists of a commercially available laptop computer and a recording system equipped with a set of signal amplifiers. The amplifiers are attached to skin-surface electrodes that pick up the electrical signals produced by the underlying muscle groups. Similar recording system and signal amplifiers are available from several suppliers in the market place. The Data Acquisition Device is controlled by proprietary data collection software developed and owned by ITM. The software prompts and guides the Technician (operator) in performing the required data collection tasks; it assists patient and operator in the execution of body movements by providing visual and audio prompts; and it provides a real-time graphical display of muscle activity. With the use of these tools the MPR Technician is assisted in successfully and reliably completing the data collection process and in archiving and transmitting the data for analysis. The MPR Data Analysis System The data collected during each MPR test is processed by our computerized Data Analysis System. Proprietary analytical software, also developed and owned by ITM, is used to assess the quality of the MPR data and, to derive a number of specific metrics used to characterize the patient’s muscle recruitment patterns, which are then compared to the same recruitment patterns of able-bodied, pain-free subjects and/or to previous baseline testing. The MPR Report The results of the analysis are presented in an MPR Report, which is electronically transmitted to the referring health care provider. The MPR Report provides a health care provider with objective evidence that indicates the presence of typical or atypical muscle recruitment patterns, which we believe are indicators of underlying biomechanical integrity and clinical dysfunction. Therefore, this objective indicator information would be integrated with the clinician’s examination findings and other clinical information for more effective overall decision making regarding clinical assessment and treatment efficacy. We will continue to develop and enhance the features and performance of our technology with the goal of introducing new reference data sets based on our core research and development activities. So, where the current MPR Report provides information identifying the presence and extent of a deviation of an atypical pattern, in the future, it may be possible to specify the nature or particular aspects of an atypical pattern. MPR - based Clinical Evaluation The MPR is expected to provide objective validation of any underlying relevant clinical (biomechanical) dysfunction. The results from an MPR test can be integrated with a health care provider’s standard clinical examination to further clarify, confirm and corroborate relevant clinical dysfunctions to objectively evaluate the state of health of a patient.
Peer-Reviewed Publications
A theoretical basis for assessing muscle dysfunction due to sprain/strain injuries is presented. We propose that muscle tissue trauma results in an alteration in the patterns of neural recruitment, a reduction in the force-generating capability of the injured muscle, and/or pain sensations. Furthermore, a lower than normal recruitment of motoneuron pools in the injured area can result in elevated recruitment levels from compensating motoneuron pools for a given motor task. It is proposed that these changes in motoneuron recruitment can be readily apparent in the rations of EMG amplitudes among multiple pairs of muscles associated kinesiologically with the affected muscle. Chronic compensating actions, such as those resulting from faulty neural feedback of the force-length-velocity relationships for a stretched tendon or muscle unit, could cause further injuries. It is proposed that consistent and valid measures of ratios of EMG amplitudes between many muscle pairs acquired for well-defined motor tasks can be used to facilitate diagnoses and direct treatment strategies for sprain/strain injuries and pain.
KEYWORDS: surface electromyography, EMG, sprain/strain injuries, muscle dysfunction, muscle EMG ratios, muscle recruitment patterns, back pain Surface electromyographic (EMG) amplitudes were gathered from 100 men and 100 women while maintaining the end range of nine motor tasks. Ratios of EMG amplitudes were used to characterize the activation patterns of 14 muscle groups of the back and trunk during 10 motor tasks. Procedures to identify electrode placement sites were developed to ensure reliability of all EMG recordings. Subcutaneous fat was estimated at each muscle site and a correction factor was used to account for signal attenuation due to the impedance attributable to adipose tissue thickness. Logarithmic transformations were performed to obtain a Gaussian distribution of the EMG amplitudes and muscle ratios. The transformed EMG amplitudes and transformed ratios were highly reliable between sessions across nine active motor tasks (Pearson's r and intra-class correlations ranged form 0.74 to 0.96). Significant gender differences were observed in the transformed EMG amplitudes and ratios of amplitudes in selected muscles and muscle pairs. It appears that the transformed EMG ratios represent a reliable means of assessing muscle recruitment patterns in a series of well-defined motor tasks in a large population of presumable normal adult male and female subjects. The acquisition of this large database under well-controlled conditions using defined criteria for each motor task provides a template to which individuals with injuries involving the neck and trunk musculature can be compared.For some of the documents, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader. You can download the reader at this link:
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