Estimation of muscle fatigue by using implantable skeletal muscle stimulator

In order to investigate the technique of cardiac assistance using skeletal muscle (cardiomyoplasty), the authors are developing an implantable skeletal muscle stimulator that responds to muscle fatigue. The stimulator obtains Fc (as an index of muscle fatigue) by using impulse response from an acceleration sensor. Fc was obtained in the animal experiment, and was compared with /spl zeta///spl omega/ by least-squares fitting method using a personal computer. The /spl zeta///spl omega/ is interpreted as a time-variant capacitance in the equivalent circuit model. The authors' results suggest that the muscle fatigue can be estimated by using Fc.