Description
The NeuroTrac Simplex EMG Biofeedback Unit is a low-cost device, an advanced and modern single-channel EMG unit featuring an easy-to-see bright LED bar graph and LCD display for feedback training.
EMG biofeedback is used for measuring and training muscle response for a wide range of physiotherapy applications including incontinence and damaged muscles. NeuroTrac Simplex EMG Biofeedback is ideal for use at home or in a clinical setting and can help with the assessment and treatment of muscular problems, repetitive strain injury (RSI), and the consequences of a stroke.
The NeuroTrac Simplex EMG Biofeedback device has been developed for its ease of use, to assist the therapists and most importantly the patients to understand the importance of applying EMG, to enhance the understanding of muscle activity, and to improve muscle conditioning. The NeuroTrac Simplex EMG Biofeedback also acts as a diagnostic tool to measure muscle activity, which is measured in microvolts.
With the NeuroTrac Simplex EMG Biofeedback, you can measure and monitor the strength of your muscles. The Neurotrac Simplex is what is known as a biofeedback device (also known as EMG) – it tells you exactly how strong your muscles are and can also help you with your manual Kegel or pelvic floor exercises.
It is ideal for the rehabilitation of muscles following injury, you can opt to receive 4 skin electrodes with your Neurotrac Simplex which measure the contractions of your muscle and help you to better understand how your muscles work and also perform biofeedback training for weak muscles. It can also act as a diagnostic tool to measure muscle activity and display your progress.
The NeuroTrac Simplex EMG Biofeedback Unit is an accurate and sensitive device that measures muscle activity down to as low as 0.2 mv (microvolts) and up to 2000 mV. The diverse range enables the device to measure very weak muscle activity for example in flaccid pelvic floor muscle. The NeuroTrac Simplex can also be used with a vaginal or rectal probe to measure the strength of your Kegel exercises and pelvic floor muscles. This helps you to monitor your progress and achieve better stronger muscles, and it means you are not wasting your time by not exercising correctly!
With the NeuroTrac Simplex EMG Biofeedback Unit, you know exactly when you are squeezing the right muscles, you know to what level you are squeezing, and for how long you can hold the muscle contraction – this is all valuable in your quest for a strong pelvic floor.
What is EMG Biofeedback and how does NeuroTrac Simplex EEG Biofeedback work
Electromyography (EMG) or Biofeedback is a technique for evaluating and recording the electrical activity
produced by skeletal muscles. EMG is performed using an instrument called electromyography, to produce a record called an electromyogram. An electromyograph detects the electrical potential generated by muscle cells when these cells are electrically or neurologically activated. The signals can be analyzed to detect medical abnormalities, activation level, and recruitment order or to analyze the biomechanics of human or animal movement.
- Using the NeuroTrac device, find the muscle and place a pair of skin electrodes on the main bulk of the selected muscle, with a separation of 1-5 cm between the electrodes (you can find the EMG electrode placement sites on the EMG Biofeedback page).
- Always remember to Use the reference Wire! Place the reference Electrode anywhere on the body, this will provide accuracy to the measurement.
- After you place the REF and measuring pair of electrodes, connect them to the unit. Your level of relaxation/ contraction, measured in microvolts, is displayed. When there is no interference and a proper connection, a reading below 4 microvolts is considered a relaxed muscle indicator.
- When you contract your muscle, you can observe that the bar graph reading goes up with the contraction. If you cannot light the top LEDs on the bar graph, you can re-scale the bar graph to be more sensitive, by decreasing the threshold (THRS button).
When you run the NeuroTrac Simplex EMG Biofeedback Unit program, you should contract the muscles as fast as possible and keep them contracted over the threshold level, during the Work segment of time (5 seconds). After the Work segment, there is a Rest segment (5 seconds), where the Patient is prompted to relax the muscle as fast as possible and keep relaxed significantly below the threshold, over the Rest period of time. A good level of relaxation is below 4 uV. An excellent level is below 1 uV.
Below 4μV a muscle is beginning to rest. If the Rest average is above 4μV make sure you use the EMG reference lead wire!
A reading above 4μV commonly means the muscle is overstimulated or tired after a long EMG training session.
The NeuroTrac Simplex EMG Biofeedback Unit will stand upright on a flat surface enabling the user to carry out specific exercises and at the same time view the Biofeedback by way of bright LED lights on the front of the unit. At the end of a session that may entail five trials of 5 seconds of work and 5 seconds of rest of activity, the LCD screen will automatically display the average muscle readings for the session. If the unit is locked all the sessions will be added together to form the overall average reading for the given period, giving the number of trials performed and the average muscle activity.
In addition, the unit can be used with the PC Software supplied. NeuroTrac Simplex EMG Biofeedback Unit has a built-in Bluetooth transmitter which enables a wireless connection for up to 10 meters. Bluetooth allows data to be sent to your laptop or PC while you are in motion.
The unit can be used as a continuous EMG visualization tool. Power on the device and it reads the EMG continuously for as long as the battery lasts (20-40 hours). In addition, the unit can be connected to the PC Software (Open Display protocol) which helps to display the graph, produce the statistical summary and store the collected data for further analysis. There is an option to export data to CSV format for Excel, Matlab, etc.
You can download Neurotrac Simplex Operators Manual here.
The NeuroTrac Simplex Biofeedback Unit is intended to be used to:
- Improve the speed, strength, toning, accuracy, and stability of your muscle contractions. Learn to relax tight muscles after exercise,
- Gain better control of the muscle,
- See your contractions in real time on our PC software using a Bluetooth data connection and keep a good record of your training progress.
- Discover the engaging and rewarding world of performance biofeedback games.
Indications for applications of NeuroTrac Simplex EMG Biofeedback
- Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome
- Chronic tension headache
- Phantom pain
- Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome
- Neck and shoulder pain
- Lower back pain
- Asthma
- Incontinence
- RSI
- Spinal problems
- Pelvic floor pain or weakness
- Muscle building and rehabilitation
- Relearning movement sequences
- Repetitive strain injury
- Muscles weakness as a consequence of a stroke
Contraindications for applications of NeuroTrac Simplex EMG Biofeedback
It is advisable to consult your doctor or therapist before using the device!
Technical specifications
- Number of channels: 1
- EMG range: 0.2 – 2,000 µV rms (continuous)
- Automatic determination of the personal EMG threshold value
- Sensitivity: 0.1µV rms
- Accuracy: 4% of mV reading +/- 0.3 mV at 200 Hz
- Selectable band filters: -3 db bandwidth
- a. Broadband: 18 Hz +/- 4 Hz to 370 Hz +/- 10% – reading below 235 µV 10 Hz +/- 3 Hz to 370 Hz +/- 10% – reading above 235 µV
- b. Narrow band: 100 Hz +/- 5% to 370 Hz +/- 10%
- Notch filter: 50 Hz – 33 dbs (0.1% tolerance)
- Common mode rejection ratio: minimum 130 dbs at 50 Hz
- Power supply: 9V battery
- Work/rest periods: 2 – 99 seconds
- Number of cycles: 1 – 99
- Dimensions: 128 x 64 x 28mm
- Weight with battery: approx. 150 g
- Additional features: Bluetooth interface, software incl., program lock, recording of cycles, work and rest values, tension and relaxation times
Description
The NeuroTrac Simplex Software is a one-channel EMG Biofeedback device that is affordable and very easy to handle!
• Suitable for diagnosing, monitoring, and treating a wide range of muscle problems
• Single Channel EMG unit
• Optional multilingual computer database system
• Structured protocols for consistency of patient progress reports (software)
• Used as an EMG biofeedback training aid or diagnostic tool
• Measures EMG from 0.2µV to 2000µV Accurately
• Designed for a wide range of physiotherapy applications such as incontinence, shoulder and neck pains, patellofemoral pain, repetitive strain injury, stroke plus much more
• Used as a learning tool for both patients and therapists with an emphasis on improving rehabilitation techniques
• Produces and prints comprehensive patient progress reports of work/rest averages, onset contraction and muscle release times, peak values, and work/rest average deviations (with optional software)
• Ability to lock the unit
• Records EMG statistics
• User friendly
• Compact, light, and reliable
• Easy to use optional software available
• Low-cost high quality and very accurate
You can power on this easy-to-use Biofeedback unit and the real-time EMG will be continuously measured. You can press the START button to begin the Work/Rest program. Here you will be prompted to contract and relax muscles. When the session is finished, the statistics will be displayed on the LCD: work time, rest time, onset and release time. One easy-to-use customizable program, where you can use the default settings or change: work time, rest time, number of repetitions, etc.
Scope of delivery
- 1 x NeuroTrac Simplex PLUS
- 1 x transport soft bag
- 1 x Device Stand
- 1 x Electrode Connection Cable
- 1 x cable reference electrode
- 4 x textile electrodes 50 x 50 mm
- 2 x 9V battery
- 1 x user manual in German
- 1 x NeuroTrac software (wireless) with 5 activations (database-supported diagnostic, evaluation, and training software)
