Evaluation and Verification of Optimal Electrode Configurations for Detection of Arm Movement Using Bio-Impedance

생체임피던스에 의한 상지운동 감지를 위한 최적 전극 위치의 평가 및 검증

In this study, we constructed a four-channel impedance measurement system including a two-channel goniometer to analyze human arm movement. Impedances and joint angles were simultaneously measured for wrist and elbow movements. As the impedance changes resulting from wrist and elbow movements depended heavily on electrode placement, we determined the optimal electrode configurations for those movements by searching for high correlation coefficients, large impedance changes, and minimum interferences in ten subjects (age: 29+6). Our optimal electrode configurations showed very strong relationships between the wrist joint angle and forearm impedance (correlation coefficient = 0.95+0.04), and between the elbow joint angle and upper arm impedance (correlation coefficient = -0.98+0.02). Although the measured impedances changes of the wrist (1.1+1.5 ohm) and elbow (-5.0+2.9 ohm) varied among individuals, the reproducibilities of wrist and elbow impedance changes of five subjects were 5.8+1.8 % and 4.6+1.4 % for the optimal electrode pairs, respectively. We propose that this optimal electrode configuration would be useful for future studies involving the measurement of accurate arm movements by impedance method.