A mixed FES/EMG system for real time analysis of muscular fatigue

In this article, we present a functional electrical stimulator allowing the extraction in real time of M-wave characteristics from resulting EMG recordings in order to quantify muscle fatigue. This system is composed of three parts. A Labview software managing the stimulation output and electromyogram (EMG) input signal, a hardware part amplifying the output and input signal and a link between the two previous parts which is made up from input/output module (NIdaq USB 6251). In order to characterize the fatigue level, the Continuous Wavelet Transform is applied yielding a local maxima detection. The fatigue is represented on a scale from 0 for a fine shaped muscle to 100 for a very tired muscle. Premilary results are given.