scholarly journals Noninvasive Assessment of Neuromechanical Coupling and Mechanical Efficiency of Parasternal Intercostal Muscle during Inspiratory Threshold Loading

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 1781
Author(s):  
Manuel Lozano-García ◽  
Luis Estrada-Petrocelli ◽  
Abel Torres ◽  
Gerrard F. Rafferty ◽  
John Moxham ◽  
...  

This study aims to investigate noninvasive indices of neuromechanical coupling (NMC) and mechanical efficiency (MEff) of parasternal intercostal muscles. Gold standard assessment of diaphragm NMC requires using invasive techniques, limiting the utility of this procedure. Noninvasive NMC indices of parasternal intercostal muscles can be calculated using surface mechanomyography (sMMGpara) and electromyography (sEMGpara). However, the use of sMMGpara as an inspiratory muscle mechanical output measure, and the relationships between sMMGpara, sEMGpara, and simultaneous invasive and noninvasive pressure measurements have not previously been evaluated. sEMGpara, sMMGpara, and both invasive and noninvasive measurements of pressures were recorded in twelve healthy subjects during an inspiratory loading protocol. The ratios of sMMGpara to sEMGpara, which provided muscle-specific noninvasive NMC indices of parasternal intercostal muscles, showed nonsignificant changes with increasing load, since the relationships between sMMGpara and sEMGpara were linear (R2 = 0.85 (0.75–0.9)). The ratios of mouth pressure (Pmo) to sEMGpara and sMMGpara were also proposed as noninvasive indices of parasternal intercostal muscle NMC and MEff, respectively. These indices, similar to the analogous indices calculated using invasive transdiaphragmatic and esophageal pressures, showed nonsignificant changes during threshold loading, since the relationships between Pmo and both sEMGpara (R2 = 0.84 (0.77–0.93)) and sMMGpara (R2 = 0.89 (0.85–0.91)) were linear. The proposed noninvasive NMC and MEff indices of parasternal intercostal muscles may be of potential clinical value, particularly for the regular assessment of patients with disordered respiratory mechanics using noninvasive wearable and wireless devices.

1987 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 1410-1415 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. G. Guslits ◽  
S. E. Gaston ◽  
M. H. Bryan ◽  
S. J. England ◽  
A. C. Bryan

Present methods of assessing the work of breathing in human infants do not account for the added load when intercostal muscle activity is lost and rib cage distortion occurs. We have developed a technique for assessing diaphragmatic work in this circumstance utilizing measurements of transdiaphragmatic pressure and abdominal volume displacement. Eleven preterm infants without evidence of lung disease were studied. During periods of minimal rib cage distortion, inspiratory diaphragmatic work averaged 5.9 g X cm X ml-1, increasing to an average of 12.4 g X cm X ml-1 with periods of paradoxical rib cage motion (P less than 0.01). Inspiratory work was strongly correlated with the electrical activity of the diaphragm as measured from its moving time average (P less than 0.05). Assuming a mechanical efficiency of 4% in these infants, the caloric cost of diaphragmatic work may reach 10% of their basal metabolic rate in periods with rib cage distortion. When lung disease is superimposed, the increased metabolic demands of the diaphragm may predispose preterm infants to fatigue and may contribute to a failure to grow.


2004 ◽  
Vol 96 (2) ◽  
pp. 483-488 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theodore A. Wilson ◽  
Andre De Troyer

The mechanisms of respiratory action of the intercostal muscles were studied by measuring the effect of external forces (F) applied to the ribs and by modeling the effect of F exerted by the intercostal muscles. In five dogs, with the airway occluded, cranial F were applied to individual rib pairs, from the 2nd to the 11th rib pair, and the change in airway opening pressure (Pao) was measured. The ratio Pao/F increases with increasing rib number in the upper ribs (2nd to 5th) and decreases in the lower ribs (5th to 11th). These data were incorporated into a model for the geometry of the ribs and intercostal muscles, and Pao/F was calculated from the model. For interspaces 2-8, the calculated values agree reasonably well with previously measured values. From the modeling, two mechanisms of intercostal muscle action are identified. One is the well-known Hamberger mechanism, modified to account for the three-dimensional geometry of the rib cage. This mechanism depends on the slant of an intercostal muscle relative to the ribs and on the resulting difference between the moments applied to the upper and lower ribs that bound each interspace. The second is a new mechanism that depends on the difference between the values of Pao/F for the upper and lower ribs.


1986 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 690-701 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. C. Saumarez

The actions of the intercostal and paraspinal muscles in stabilizing the human upper rib cage have been analyzed using a geometrically realistic mathematical model of the first six ribs, vertebrae, and associated musculature. The model suggests roles of the deep layers of erector spinae in stabilizing the vertebral column so that it can support the loads placed upon it by the ribs under physiological load. If we assume that the tension exerted by an intercostal muscle is proportional to its local thickness, the model predicts that the observed distribution of intercostal thickness is close to that which minimizes the stresses in ribs when the model is subjected to peak physiological load. The observed shape of the ribs are optimal to withstand the calculated pattern of loading along their length. These calculations raise the hypothesis that the arrangement of intercostal musculature and rib geometry result in an optimally light rib cage, which is capable of withstanding the loads placed upon it. The analysis of the mechanics of the entire model indicates that the geometrical simplifications made in Hamberger's model are not valid when applied to the rib cage.


1989 ◽  
Vol 67 (5) ◽  
pp. 2087-2094 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. A. Whitelaw ◽  
T. Feroah

Coordination of activity of inspiratory intercostal muscles in conscious human subjects was studied by means of an array of electromyograph (EMG) electrodes. Bipolar fine wire electrodes were placed in the second and fourth parasternal intercostal muscles and in two or three external intercostal muscles in the midaxillary line from the fourth to eighth intercostal spaces. Subjects breathed quietly or rebreathed from a bag containing 8% CO2 in O2 in both supine and upright postures. Respiration was monitored by means of flow, volume, and separate rib cage and abdominal volumes. Onset of EMG activity in each breath was found near the beginning of inspiration in the uppermost intercostal spaces but progressively later in inspiration in lower spaces, indicating that activity spreads downward across the rib cage through inspiration. At higher ventilation stimulated by CO2, activity spread further and faster downward. In voluntary deep breathing, external intercostal muscles tended to be recruited earlier in inspiration than in CO2-stimulated breathing. The change from supine to sitting resulted in small and inconsistent changes. There was no lung volume or rib cage volume threshold for appearance of EMG activity in any of the spaces.


2018 ◽  
Vol 125 (4) ◽  
pp. 1165-1170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guangzhi Zhang ◽  
Xian Chen ◽  
Junji Ohgi ◽  
Fei Jiang ◽  
Seiryo Sugiura ◽  
...  

The effect of intercostal muscle contraction on generating rib motion has been investigated for a long time and is still controversial in physiology. This may be because of the complicated structure of the rib cage, making direct prediction of the relationship between intercostal muscle force and rib movement impossible. Finite element analysis is a useful tool that is good at solving complex structural mechanic problems. In this study, we individually activated the intercostal muscle groups from the dorsal to ventral portions and obtained five different rib motions classified based on rib moving directions. We found that the ribs cannot only rigidly rotate around the spinal joint but also be deformed, particularly around the relatively soft costal cartilages, where the moment of muscle force for the rigid rotation is small. Although the intercostal muscles near the costal cartilages cannot generate a large moment to rotate the ribs, the muscles may still have a potential to deform the costal cartilages and contribute to the expansion and contraction of the rib cage based on the force-length relationship. Our results also indicated that this potential is matched well with the special shape of the costal cartilages, which become progressively oblique in the caudal direction. Compared with the traditional explanation of rib motion, by additionally considering the effect from the tissue deformation, we found that the special structure of the ventral portion of the human rib cage could be of mechanical benefit to the intercostal muscles, generating inspiratory and expiratory rib motions. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Compared with the traditional explanation of rib motion, additionally considering the effect from tissue deformation helps us understand the special structure of the ventral portion of the human rib cage, such that the costal cartilages progressively become oblique and the costochondral junction angles gradually change into nearly right angles from the upper to lower ribs, which could be of mechanical benefit to the intercostal muscles in the ventral portion, generating inspiratory and expiratory rib motions.


2007 ◽  
Vol 102 (6) ◽  
pp. 2332-2337 ◽  
Author(s):  
André De Troyer ◽  
Dimitri Leduc

The inspiratory intercostal muscles elevate the ribs and thereby elicit a fall in pleural pressure (ΔPpl) when they contract. In the present study, we initially tested the hypothesis that this ΔPpl does, in turn, oppose the rib elevation. The cranial rib displacement (Xr) produced by selective activation of the parasternal intercostal muscle in the fourth interspace was measured in dogs, first with the rib cage intact and then after ΔPpl was eliminated by bilateral pneumothorax. For a given parasternal contraction, Xr was greater after pneumothorax; the increase in Xr per unit decrease in ΔPpl was 0.98 ± 0.11 mm/cmH2O. Because this relation was similar to that obtained during isolated diaphragmatic contraction, we subsequently tested the hypothesis that the increase in Xr observed during breathing after diaphragmatic paralysis was, in part, the result of the decrease in ΔPpl, and the contribution of the difference in ΔPpl to the difference in Xr was determined by using the relation between Xr and ΔPpl during passive inflation. With diaphragmatic paralysis, Xr during inspiration increased approximately threefold, and 47 ± 8% of this increase was accounted for by the decrease in ΔPpl. These observations indicate that 1) ΔPpl is a primary determinant of rib motion during intercostal muscle contraction and 2) the decrease in ΔPpl and the increase in intercostal muscle activity contribute equally to the increase in inspiratory cranial displacement of the ribs after diaphragm paralysis.


1987 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 221-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. van Lunteren ◽  
M. A. Haxhiu ◽  
E. C. Deal ◽  
J. S. Arnold ◽  
N. S. Cherniack

The purpose of the present study was to assess the effects of bronchoconstriction on respiratory changes in length of the costal diaphragm and the parasternal intercostal muscles. Ten dogs were anesthetized with pentobarbital sodium and tracheostomized. Respiratory changes in muscle length were measured using sonomicrometry, and electromyograms were recorded with bipolar fine-wire electrodes. Administration of histamine aerosols increased pulmonary resistance from 6.4 to 14.5 cmH2O X l–1 X s, caused reductions in inspiratory and expiratory times, and decreased tidal volume. The peak and rate of rise of respiratory muscle electromyogram (EMG) activity increased significantly after histamine administration. Despite these increases, bronchoconstriction reduced diaphragm inspiratory shortening in 9 of 10 dogs and reduced intercostal muscle inspiratory shortening in 7 of 10 animals. The decreases in respiratory muscle tidal shortening were less than the reductions in tidal volume. The mean velocity of diaphragm and intercostal muscle inspiratory shortening increased after histamine administration but to a smaller extent than the rate of rise of EMG activity. This resulted in significant reductions in the ratio of respiratory muscle velocity of shortening to the rate of rise of EMG activity after bronchoconstriction for both the costal diaphragm and the parasternal intercostal muscles. Bronchoconstriction changed muscle end-expiratory length in most animals, but for the group of animals this was statistically significant only for the diaphragm. These results suggest that impairments of diaphragm and parasternal intercostal inspiratory shortening occur after bronchoconstriction; the mechanisms involved include an increased load, a shortening of inspiratory time, and for the diaphragm possibly a reduction in resting length.


1986 ◽  
Vol 60 (5) ◽  
pp. 1686-1691 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Decramer ◽  
S. Kelly ◽  
A. De Troyer

In an attempt to assess the physiological function(s) of the external (E) and internal interosseous (I) intercostal muscles, we measured the changes in intercostal muscle length during spontaneous breathing, during passive inflation, and during passive rotation of the trunk. Studies were performed on 46 muscles from 16 supine anesthetized dogs, and changes in muscle length were assessed by sonomicrometry. The changes were small during spontaneous breathing, whether before or after bilateral phrenicotomy, and the pattern was variable among animals and among interspaces. The E, however, particularly in the lower interspaces, often lengthened with inspiration, and the I, in particular in the upper interspaces, often shortened with inspiration. Only occasionally did the E and I in one interspace change in length in opposing directions. This was also true during passive inflation, where both E and I usually shortened in the upper interspaces and lengthened in the lower interspaces. By contrast, during passive rotation of the trunk, the E and I systematically changed in length in opposing directions, and either muscle could successively lengthen and shorten a substantial amount depending on the side of rotation. These results suggest that 1) the E and I in supine dogs do not behave as antagonistic muscles during moderate respiratory efforts; and 2) they do behave as antagonistic muscles during rotation of the trunk. A primary function of these muscles as rotators of the trunk, unlike breathing, may explain why two layers of intercostal muscles with different fiber orientation exist between the ribs.


1992 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 979-986 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. F. DiMarco ◽  
J. R. Romaniuk ◽  
G. S. Supinski

Recent studies suggest that the external intercostal (EI) muscles of the upper rib cage, like the parasternals (PA), play an important ventilatory role, even during eupneic breathing. The purpose of the present study was to further assess the ventilatory role of the EI muscles by determining their response to various static and dynamic respiratory maneuvers and comparing them with the better-studied PA muscles. Applied interventions included 1) passive inflation and deflation, 2) abdominal compression, 3) progressive hypercapnia, and 4) response to bilateral cervical phrenicotomy. Studies were performed in 11 mongrel dogs. Electromyographic (EMG) activities were monitored via bipolar stainless steel electrodes. Muscle length (percentage of resting length) was monitored with piezoelectric crystals. With passive rib cage inflation produced either with a volume syringe or abdominal compression, each muscle shortened; with passive deflation, each muscle lengthened. During eupneic breathing, each muscle was electrically active and shortened to a similar degree. In response to progressive hypercapnia, peak EMG of each intercostal muscle increased linearly and to a similar extent. Inspiratory shortening also increased progressively with increasing PCO2, but in a curvilinear fashion with no significant differences in response among intercostal muscles. In response to phrenicotomy, the EMG and degree of inspiratory shortening of each intercostal muscle increased significantly. Again, the response among intercostal muscles was not significantly different.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


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