A Subject-Specific Neuromusculoskeletal Model for Muscle Force Estimation Used in Rehabilitation

Human movement biomechanical analyses are considered as an essential tool in the clinical management and basic research of neurological and orthopedic conditions. Also, application of a biomechanical model for the estimation of the activity of muscles during rehabilitation training sessions could assist therapists to conduct personalized rehabilitation therapy and understand inter muscle dynamics of body part motions. In this paper, we propose a subject-specific neuromusculoskeletal (NMS) prediction model for the estimation of individual muscle forces during elbow extension and flexion. The NMS model was established by initial guesses and then the parameters of muscles were optimized and modified using the surface electromyography (sEMG) signals and motion data. Then specific muscles forces were predicted using the subject-specific NMS model during elbow flexion and extension. The results show geat accuracy and reliability of the optimized NMS model. This subject-specific NMS model by merging sEMG signals and motion data together, shows great potential to provide an improvement to quantitatively assess upper limb function and improve diagnosis and management of both neurological and orthopaedic conditions in rehabilitation.