Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Aškerčeva cesta 6, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
TMG-BMC d.o.o., Štihova ulica 24, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Sensors (Basel). 2017 Jun 14;17(6):1389. doi: 10.3390/s17061389.
The aim of the study was to evaluate a novel approach to measuring neck muscle load and activity in vehicle collision conditions. A series of sled tests were performed on 10 healthy volunteers at three severity levels to simulate low-severity frontal impacts. Electrical activity-electromyography (EMG)-and muscle mechanical tension was measured bilaterally on the upper trapezius. A novel mechanical contraction (MC) sensor was used to measure the tension on the muscle surface. The neck extensor loads were estimated based on the inverse dynamics approach. The results showed strong linear correlation (Pearson's coefficient = 0.821) between the estimated neck muscle load and the muscle tension measured with the MC sensor. The peak of the estimated neck muscle force delayed 0.2 ± 30.6 ms on average vs. the peak MC sensor signal compared to the average delay of 61.8 ± 37.4 ms vs. the peak EMG signal. The observed differences in EMG and MC sensor collected signals indicate that the MC sensor offers an additional insight into the analysis of the neck muscle load and activity in impact conditions. This approach enables a more detailed assessment of the muscle-tendon complex load of a vehicle occupant in pre-impact and impact conditions.
本研究旨在评估一种新的方法来测量车辆碰撞条件下颈部肌肉的负荷和活动。在三个严重程度水平上，对 10 名健康志愿者进行了一系列雪橇测试，以模拟低严重程度的正面冲击。在斜方肌上部双侧测量电活性-肌电图（EMG）和肌肉机械张力。一种新型的机械收缩（MC）传感器用于测量肌肉表面的张力。根据逆动力学方法估计颈部伸肌的负荷。结果表明，估计的颈部肌肉负荷与 MC 传感器测量的肌肉张力之间存在很强的线性相关性（Pearson 系数=0.821）。与 EMG 信号的平均峰值延迟 61.8±37.4ms 相比，估计的颈部肌肉力的峰值平均延迟 0.2±30.6ms。与 MC 传感器信号相比，观察到的 EMG 和 MC 传感器采集信号之间的差异表明，MC 传感器为分析冲击条件下颈部肌肉负荷和活动提供了额外的见解。这种方法可以更详细地评估车辆乘员在预冲击和冲击条件下的肌肉-肌腱复合体的负荷。
