Longitudinal analysis of lower limb muscle activity and ankle tendon biosignals using structural equation modeling

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Biomechanics
• Physiology

Background:

• Biosignals originating from tendons, termed mechanotendography, offer insights into muscle function.
• Understanding the relationship between muscle force and tendon biosignals is crucial for biomechanical analysis.
• Current methods for capturing tendon biosignals require further refinement for clinical applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the feasibility of using piezoelectric film sensors to capture tendon biosignals.
• To analyze the relationship between exerted muscle force and extracted biosignal features.
• To identify factors influencing biosignal measurement accuracy.

Main Methods:

• Collected biosignals from 63 participants during varying muscle force exertions.
• Utilized Linear Latent Curve Model (LCM) and Conditional Linear LCM for data analysis.
• Classified data into typical and atypical biosignal patterns.

Main Results:

• Typical biosignal patterns exhibited a high degree of model fit.
• Ankle circumference and muscle mass were found to influence the model intercept.
• Increased ankle circumference correlated with attenuated signal transmission, resulting in lower biosignal values.

Conclusions:

• Piezoelectric film sensors are effective for capturing ankle tendon biosignals.
• The relationship between tendon biosignals and muscle force can be linearly modeled.
• Findings support individualized approaches in motion control and rehabilitation, with a need for further physiological studies.