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Reducing intersubject variability in motor unit number estimation
Author(s) -
Shefner Jeremy M.,
Jillapalli Devanand,
Bradshaw Deborah Y.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
muscle and nerve
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.025
H-Index - 145
eISSN - 1097-4598
pISSN - 0148-639X
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-4598(199910)22:10<1457::aid-mus18>3.0.co;2-t
Subject(s) - reliability (semiconductor) , motor unit , physical medicine and rehabilitation , medicine , anatomy , power (physics) , physics , quantum mechanics
Motor unit number estimation (MUNE) attempts to directly assess the number of functioning motor units present in a muscle. It is an important addition to the electrodiagnostic evaluation; however, both intrasubject and intersubject reliability must be minimized for this technique to be clinically useful. A number of MUNE techniques have been developed. We propose a change in the way of calculating the MUNE, using the statistical technique described by Daube, and show that this modification reduces intersubject variability and improves test–retest reliability in normal subjects. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Muscle Nerve 22: 1457–1460, 1999