ROBUST METHOD FOR ESTIMATING MOTOR UNIT FIRING-PATTERN STATISTICS

An error-filtered estimation (EFE) algorithm for estimating the mean a nd standard deviation of a set of time intervals between consecutive m otor unit firing times (inter-pulse intervals (IPIs)) is described. As the input IPI data are filtered and only valid IPIs are used to estim ate mean and standard deviation values, the EFE algorithm provides acc urate estimates even when the data defining the train of motor unit fi ring times are only partially complete or have several erroneous firin g times. The algorithm has been evaluated using both simulated and rea l motor unit firing time data, and has been found to provide accurate and unbiased mean and standard deviation estimates, even when up to 70 % of the IPI data are incorrect.