Detection and Analysis of Diaphragmatic EMG Signals in Adults and Neonates

The electromyogram (EMG), and particularly the diaphragmatic EMG, is known to reflect fatigue of the muscle in principle. The detection of fatigue in the diaphragmatic muscle is a difficult problem because the quality of the signal is affected only by the acquisition device but also by the disturbing signal generated by the heart activity. Restricted stationary and partly nonlinear signal propagation characteristics are examples of conditions, which need specific sophisticated solutions. This project is dedicated to analyzing and processing diaphragmatic EMG signals in order to get a good monitoring of the respiration and the weaning process. That means that new algorithms and methods of signal processing will be used for diaphragmatic EMG signal. This project will bring up new methods in respiratory system monitoring and analysis, especially by optimizing the signal processing algorithms, which were shown to be appropriate in principle according to the needs of this specific biomedical application. This requires performing of experimental work with patients (in cooperation with Catharina Hospital, Eindhoven, which is well known for diagnosis and therapy of diseases of the respiratory system) in order to collect more real data from critical patient situations. An engineering work of signal processing design is also necessary (the main load will be the latter aspect). Experimental work especially requires getting familiar with EMG recording data and logging; the data analysis obligatory demands knowledge in Digital Signal Processing and Matlab. Therefore, some education background in biomedical engineering will help to proceed with this interdisciplinary dissertation project reasonably fast. Working at the Technical University Eindhoven, Dept. of Electrical Engineering, Signal Processing Group as a Part-Time Professor and also at the Catharina Hospital, Dept. of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, I can offer to Ms. Mihaela Ungureanu or the scientific support she needs in developing this project. Keywords: diaphragmatic EMG signal, diagnosis, signal aquisition, signal processing, adults and neonates