Performance of individual groups of respiratory muscles

Normal breathing is made possible by the adequate performance of the respiratory pump which is driven by the respiratory muscles. A system for the noninvasive measurement of mouth pressure, airflow and EMG signals from respiratory muscles during different respiratory maneuvers was developed to assess the performance of individual groups of respiratory muscles. A Hill-based muscle model was utilized to estimate the forces generated by each of the respiratory muscles during the various maneuvers. The results show the potential of this method in both the diagnosis of weak muscle groups and development of rehabilitation programs.