Class: BE210
Group: R2
Members:
 

Date: May, 2002

Full Text

Abstract:
Electromyography was used to find optimal electrode placements for identifying and distinguishing between the processes of deglutition and mastication, while minimizing the interference from basal activity.  For mastication, both Temporalis and Masseter electrode placements, yielded a significant difference between the magnitudes of the signals generated by mastication activity and by basal activity, at the 95% confidence level. The chew to basal ratios for two subjects were 3.53 and 5.02 for the Temporalis and 4.07 and 4.29 for the Masseter.  Of the three electrode placements evaluated for monitoring deglutition, the Constrictor Pharyngis placement yielded among the lowest swallow to basal ratios: 1.47 and 1.09 for the two preliminary subjects.  The signals generated by the Supra-to-Infra Hyoid and the Infra-to-Infra Hyoid placements both showed a significant difference at the 95% confidence level between the magnitudes of deglutition activity and basal activity in the four test subjects, with the exception of one subject’s Infra-to-Infra Hyoid trial.  However, there was no significant difference between the Hyoid placements, regardless of whether peanuts or caramel were used.  Fast Fourier Transform analysis was deemed inapplicable to identifying mastication or deglutition signals because after the removal of alias frequencies and discounting the ambient 60 Hz frequency, the FFT chart showed no other significant peaks.  An alternative method for identifying mastication and deglutition was developed, resulting in following equation:

where ? is a factor representative of the desirability of increasing the number of true detections at the cost of possible false detections.  Using this method, mastication and deglutition activity was detected at a %f level of 96.3% (using an ? of 0.25).