INTENTION TREMOR IN MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS: MEASURING AND MODELLING ARM DYNAMICS AND ELBOW TORQUE

摘要

This paper reports on a project to measure and control tremor in individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS). It discusses systems for measuring and modelling upper limb movements and intention tremor, together with initial movement measurement and torque modelling data.The system uses microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) sensors to measure movements of the upper limb representative of everyday tasks. Surface electromyogram (EMG) measurements are taken simultaneously to provide gross muscle activity data. A dynamic model is used to simulate the movements, allowing particular sites to be studied in detail.Initial movement data is presented, comparing analysed EMG data and torque estimated by the dynamic model around the elbow joint. Despite the simple analysis, a good fit was obtained.The dynamic model includes a neuromuscular modelling system which will be used in future work to simulate the interactions between measured movements containing intention tremor and the intention behind them, allowing better understanding of the tremor and creating better descriptions of the tremor.Future work will use measured data and modelling to develop methods of attenuating intention tremor, by providing real-time feedback control of tremor reduction devices, without adversely affecting the underlying intended movement.