New joint analysis of electromyography spectrum and amplitude-based methods towards real-time muscular fatigue evaluation during a simulated surgical procedure: A pilot analysis on the statistical significance

Abstract

The Joint Analysis of Spectral and Amplitude (JASA) method offers a valuable tool for the indication of four muscle conditions in occupational field studies. It has both advantages of an easy computation and an ergonomic display of the results. However, several limitations are pointed out such as the lack of information on the change of the muscle condition all along the completion of task. This paper proposes two evolutions of the JASA method to quantify muscular fatigue in real time for comfort analysis. The evolutionary method focuses on increased time windows; and the sequential method analyses the muscle conditions on constant sliding time lapses. A pilot study is conducted for a minimally-invasive laparoscopic procedure. The outcome results obtained with the original, the evolutionary and the sequential methods are compared. Both new methods provide a complementary analysis of the muscular fatigue over a task and the statistical significance of the condition.

Keywords: JASA Method; Muscular fatigue; Musculoskeletal disorders; Statistical significance; Surface electromyography; Surgical procedure.