Neural network models in EMG diagnosis

In previous years, several computer-aided quantitative motor unit action potential (MUAP) techniques were reported. It is now possible to add to these techniques the capability of automated medical diagnosis so that all data can be processed in an integrated environment. In this study, the parametric pattern recognition (PPR) algorithm that facilitates automatic MUAP feature extraction and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) models are combined for providing an integrated system for the diagnosis of neuromuscular disorders. Two paradigms of learning for training ANN models were investigated, supervised, and unsupervised. For supervised learning, the back-propagation algorithm and for unsupervised learning, the Kohonen´s self-organizing feature maps algorithm were used. The diagnostic yield for models trained with both procedures was similar and on the order of 80%. However, back propagation models required considerably more computational effort compared to the Kohonen´s self-organizing feature map models. Poorer diagnostic performance was obtained when the K-means nearest neighbor clustering algorithm was applied on the same set of data