Bîrlea, S.I., Breen, P.P., Corley, G.J., Bîrlea, N.M., Quondamatteo, F. and ÓLaighin, G. (2014) Changes in the electrical properties of the electrode–skin–underlying tissue composite during a week-long programme of neuromuscular electrical stimulation. Physiological Measurement, 35(2), pp. 231-252. (doi: 10.1088/0967-3334/35/2/231) (PMID:24434816)
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Abstract
Particular neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) applications require the use of the same electrodes over a long duration (>1 day) without having access to them. Under such circumstance the quality of the electrode-skin contact cannot be assessed. We used the NMES signal itself to assess the quality of the electrode-skin contact and the electrical properties of the underlying tissues over a week. A 14% decrease in the skin's stratum corneum resistance (from 20 to 17 k Omega) and a 15% decrease in the resistance of the electrodes and underlying tissues (from 550 to 460 Omega) were observed in the 14 healthy subjects investigated. A follow-on investigation of the effect of exercise-induced sweating on the electrical properties of the electrode-skin-underlying tissue composite during NMES indicated a correlation between the decrease in the resistance values observed over the course of the week and the accumulation of sweat at the electrode-skin interface. The value of the capacitance representing the dielectric properties of the skin's stratum corneum increased after exercise-induced sweating but did not change significantly over the course of the week. We conclude that valuable information about the electrode-skin-underlying tissue composite can be gathered using the NMES signal itself, and suggest that this is a practical, safe and relatively simple method for monitoring these electrical properties during long-term stimulation.
| Item Type: | Articles |
|---|---|
| Status: | Published |
| Refereed: | Yes |
| Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: | Quondamatteo, Prof Fabio |
| Authors: | Bîrlea, S.I., Breen, P.P., Corley, G.J., Bîrlea, N.M., Quondamatteo, F., and ÓLaighin, G. |
| College/School: | College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Life Sciences |
| Journal Name: | Physiological Measurement |
| Publisher: | IOP Publishing |
| ISSN: | 0967-3334 |
| ISSN (Online): | 1361-6579 |
| Published Online: | 16 January 2014 |
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