Objectives

The study investigated effects of electrode material, inter-electrode distance (IED), and conductive gel on electromyographic (EMG) activity recorded from the masseter muscle.

Materials and methods

EMG was recorded unilaterally, as ten volunteers performed standardized oral tasks. Ag/AgCl and Ag coated with Au were the gel-based; Ag alloy coated with graphene, pure Ag coated with graphene and silver nanowire embedded electrodes were the gel-free materials tested. Ag/AgCl electrodes were tested at three different IEDs (i.e. 15 mm, 20 mm, 25 mm). An electrode relative performance index (ERPI) was defined and calculated for each of the standardized oral tasks that the volunteers performed. ERPI values obtained for the different oral tasks with different electrode materials and IEDs were compared using two-way repeated-measures ANOVA.

Results

ERPI values were not significantly influenced by IED. However, for the electrode materials statistically significant differences were found in ERPI values for all oral tasks. Of the gel-free electrode materials tested, pure silver electrodes coated with graphene had the highest ERPI values followed by Ag alloy electrodes coated with graphene and silver nanowire embedded electrodes.

Conclusions

Within the limitations of the study, IED between 15 and 25 mm has a negligible effect on masseter muscle EMG. Graphene coated and silver nanowire embedded electrodes show promise as gel-free alternatives.

中文翻译：

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电极特性对咬肌肌肉肌电活动的影响

目标

该研究调查了电极材料，电极间距离（IED）和导电凝胶对从咬肌中记录的肌电图（EMG）活性的影响。

材料和方法

当十名志愿者执行标准化的口头任务时，单方面记录了EMG。Ag / AgCl和涂有Au的Ag是基于凝胶的; 测试了涂有石墨烯的Ag合金，涂有石墨烯的纯Ag和银纳米线嵌入式电极。在三个不同的IED（即15 mm，20 mm，25 mm）下测试了Ag / AgCl电极。为志愿者执行的每个标准化口头任务定义并计算电极相对性能指数（ERPI）。使用双向重复测量方差分析比较使用不同电极材料和IED进行的不同口腔任务获得的ERPI值。

结果

ERPI值不受IED的显着影响。但是，对于电极材料，所有口腔任务的ERPI值在统计学上均存在显着差异。在测试的无凝胶电极材料中，涂有石墨烯的纯银电极具有最高的ERPI值，其次是涂有石墨烯的银合金电极和银纳米线嵌入式电极。

结论

在研究范围内，IED在15至25 mm之间对咬肌肌电图的影响可忽略不计。石墨烯涂层和银纳米线嵌入式电极显示出有望成为无凝胶替代品。