Twenty-one years a Noraxon user

 

Who:  It is not unusual to learn up on a piece of technology during your graduate studies and find yourself wanting to use the same technology after graduating. There is a certain level of familiarity and confidence in continuing to use technology that was originally vetted by your supervisors and you have likely spent countless hours working with to complete research projects. You may even consider yourself an expert after all that experience. This was a similar process for Steve Tucker, Department Chair and Associate Professor at the University of Central Arkansas. He started using the Noraxon Telemyo 900 EMG system in 1998 while working on his master’s degree at the University of Toledo and continued to use the EMG system during his PhD training. When he started at the University of Central Arkansas in 2008 he moved on to the Telemyo 2400t g2 system. Noraxon’s newest EMG system is the Ultium EMG System; a wireless, multi-modal sensor system that can measure up to 4,000 samples per second.

What:  These days, Dr. Tucker is capitalizing on the multi-device nature of the myoRESEARCH 3 Software by incorporating kinematic and acceleration measures with his EMG measures. His breadth of tech  spans from 2D motion tracking with inclinometers to 3D motion tracking with the myoMOTION IMU system.

Recently he published a study in Prehospital Emergency Care that used the myoMOTION system to measure cervical spine motion during ground to cot transfer, transport in an ambulance, and transfer from cot to hospital bed. This involved a major effort for planning, logistics, data collection, and data analysis, as each trial averaged approximately 25 minutes. The use of the myoMOTION system with the participants in the supine position within a moving vehicle posed a few obstacles that had to be worked out during the pilot study phase. “It was a collaborative effort between paramedics, athletic trainers, and an emergency department physician, and was well worth the effort for such a unique study,” explains Tucker.

When:  With his research shifting away from EMG and deeper into motion analysis, Tucker has been working more with the myoMOTION IMU system. “In addition to providing accurate data, which is always important, I have enjoyed the versatility and freedom the MyoMotion system gives me to move outside the lab”, says Tucker.

Why:  I have a passion for baseball and making it safer for athletes by keeping them healthy. Currently, we are collecting data for a youth baseball study that is measuring trunk motion using the MyoMotion system. Prepping for sensor placement and collecting pilot data have been vital to the success of the study. The software itself has made it easier to process data and run reports.

What’s next:  Tucker says his plan is to continue to move down the kinetic chain and look at hip motion in throwing athletes. “For a long time, research on throwing injuries focused on the upper extremity”, explains Tucker. “Researchers and clinicians are starting to look at deficiencies in other parts of the body as the culprit to throwing related injuries.”