AUTHOR=Meigal Alexander , Rissanen Saara , Tarvainen Mika , Airaksinen Olavi , Kankaanpaa Markku , Karjalainen Pasi TITLE=Non-Linear EMG Parameters for Differential and Early Diagnostics of Parkinson’s Disease JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neurology VOLUME=4 YEAR=2013 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2013.00135 DOI=10.3389/fneur.2013.00135 ISSN=1664-2295 ABSTRACT=

The pre-clinical diagnostics is essential for management of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Although PD has been studied intensively in the last decades, the pre-clinical indicators of that motor disorder have yet to be established. Several approaches were proposed but the definitive method is still lacking. Here we report on the non-linear characteristics of surface electromyogram (sEMG) and tremor acceleration as a possible diagnostic tool, and, in prospective, as a predictor for PD. Following this approach we calculated such non-linear parameters of sEMG and accelerometer signal as correlation dimension, entropy, and determinism. We found that the non-linear parameters allowed discriminating some 85% of healthy controls from PD patients. Thus, this approach offers considerable potential for developing sEMG-based method for pre-clinical diagnostics of PD. However, non-linear parameters proved to be more reliable for the shaking form of PD, while diagnostics of the rigid form of PD using EMG remains an open question.