APPLICATION OF FACTOR-ANALYSIS FOR THE DETERMINATION OF SPECIFIC FREQUENCY BANDS IN CORPUS CAVERNOSUM EMG POWER-DENSITY SPECTRA

Corpus cavernosum electromyogram (CC-EMG) recording provides diagnosti c information on cavernous autonomic innervation and the intact state of cavernous smooth muscle cells. Evaluation of these signals is time consuming and complex. Therefore, we attempted to facilitate their int erpretation and to increase their objectivity by using computer-based digital signal processing. Spectral parameters were used as a starting point for this analysis, which were calculated from the Fourier-trans formed time domain CC-EMGs. Factor analysis was applied to determine s pecific frequency bands in the CC-EMG power density. Two hundred power spectra, taken from normal subjects (n = 66) and from patients suffer ing from erectile dysfunction (n = 134), constituted the basic data. A s a result of applying factor analysis, four specific frequency bands were depicted: 0.0-0.3, 0.3-3.5, 3.5-6.0 and 6.0-10.0 Hz. The results of this study form the basis for further mathematical evaluation and c alculation of the CC-EMG for clinical and diagnostic purposes.