Detecting excessive and insufficient breathing effort with respiratory surface EMG

During mechanical ventilation risks for excessive and insufficient breathing effort directly determine patient outcomes through distinct injury mechanisms. Respiratory surface electromyography (sEMG) holds potential for monitoring breathing effort, however measurement of electrical activity in comparison to conventional pressure measurement exhibits systematic differences in timing and amplitude of inspiratory activity. In this article influences of neuromechanical delay (NMD) and coupling (NMC) on detection performance using sEMG compared to pressure measurements are investigated. Results indicate excellent performance if sEMG measurements are corrected for both NMD and NMC. However, using generalized values for NMD and NMC do not achieve improvements, highlighting the importance of individualized calibration.