Spectrum dip estimator of nerve conduction velocity

The performance equations of the spectrum dip estimator of nerve conduction velocity are derived. Theoretical results are verified by simulation studies in which computer-generated action potentials are added to white Gaussian noise. The signal-to-noise ratio is varied for a given value of conduction delay and observation interval, and the delay estimation error determined by repeated measurements using the bipolar dip technique. The performance of the bipolar dip method is also compared with the time-domain methods. The measurement simulation results agree very well with the theoretical results. It is concluded that the advantage offered by the bipolar dip method is that a single signal acquisition channel is acquired, compared to two for the time-domain monopolar methods. However, results show that the estimation error performance is somewhat poorer.