Telemetry system to record force and EMG from cat ankle extensor and tibialis anterior muscles

The purpose of this technical note is to present the design of an eight-channel telemetry system of dimensions and weight small enough to record muscular forces and EMGs simultaneously from gastrocnemius, soleus, plantaris and tibialis anterior muscles of a freely moving cat. All schematics for constructing the telemetry device are shown in detail. Using this system, we were successful in measuring force and EMG data of all four instrumented muscles in freely moving animals. The telemetry system presented here has the advantage over a conventional cable system that recordings may be obtained at any time in the freely moving animal without interference by an experimenter.