Automated way to obtain motor units´ signatures and estimate their firing patterns during voluntary contractions using HD-sEMG

A new, automated way to obtain signatures of active motor units (MUs) from high density surface EMG recordings during voluntary contractions is presented. It relies on clustering of repetitive shapes corresponding to different MU action potentials (MUAPs) present. The number of clusters and the mean shapes of the MUAPs as observed on the electrode grid, are estimated in a fast way without user interaction. The algorithm is tested on simulated signals mimicking a small muscle. Our results show that at least 8 MUAPs can be reliably reconstructed and their MU mean firing frequencies can be estimated.