Simulation of surface EMG signals generated by muscle tissues with inhomogeneity due to fiber pinnation

Surface electromyographic (EMG) signal modeling has important applications in the interpretation of experimental EMG data. Most models of surface EMG generation considered volume conductors homogeneous in the direction of propagation of the action potentials. However, this may not be the case in practice due to local tissue inhomogeneities or to the fact that there may be groups of muscle fibers with different orientations. This study addresses the issue of analytically describing surface EMG signals generated by bi-pinnate muscles, i.e., muscles which have two groups of fibers with two orientations. The approach will also be adapted to the case of a muscle with fibers inclined in the depth direction. Such muscle anatomies are inhomogeneous in the direction of propagation of the action potentials with the consequence that the system can not be described as space invariant in the direction of source propagation. In these conditions, the potentials detected at the skin surface do not travel without shape changes. This determines numerical issues in the implementation of the model which are addressed in this work. The study provides the solution of the nonhomogenous, anisotropic problem, proposes an implementation of the results in complete surface EMG generation models (including finite-length fibers), and shows representative results of the application of the models proposed.