Quantitative Electromyography

Semi-quantitative EMG methods are in common use in clinical electromyography laboratories but have a number of drawbacks and limitations, including examiner bias in MUP analysis and challenges distinguishing between MUP categories of normal and neurogenic and normal and myopathic waveforms. An array of formal MUP quantitation methods has been developed in recent decades, which seek to address many of the shortcomings of semiquantitative EMG. The advantages of quantitative EMG (QEMG) include: (1) making measurements of MUP recordings consisting of numerical values derived from precise measurements, (2) generating normative data and allowing comparisons with data from patients with suspected neuromuscular diseases, (3) allowing for reproducible results that can be compared at different times by different examiners and in different labs, and (4) allowing accurate assessment of improvement or deterioration in disease severity over time.