Trigno Analytics: Preparation

For detailed instructions, please refer to Activating & Pairing a Sensor to learn more about how to add sensors to Trigno Discover.

1. Activate the sensor by tapping it on the magnet until the LED turns orange/cyan.

2. In Trigno Discover, click Add Sensor, enter the sensor number, then tap the sensor on the magnet.

3. If a sensor has been paired previously, a manual scan can be initiated by selecting “Scan for Sensors.”

Information

• The recommended number of muscles depends on the report type:

  • Cyclical Analysis: 1, 2 or 4 muscles

  • Symmetry Analysis: 2 muscles

  • Amplitude Analysis: 3-8 muscles

  • Co-Activation Analysis: 2 muscles

For detailed instructions, refer to Trigno Discover: Trial Setup to learn more about how to configure a trial.

1. Adjust the Sensor Name, mode, sampling frequency, and bandwidth through the display in the connected sensors window or through the sensor Settings Icon.

2. Edit trial settings, including trial name, tags, and comments.

   1. Modify timed and delayed collection settings if required.

3. Enable biofeedback through the Plot Configuration tab.

4. Preview Signals before starting data collection by selecting Preview Signals to verify signal quality.

Information

• Data collected during the preview is not saved.

For detailed instructions, refer to Trigno Discover: MVC Calibrations to learn how to perform an MVC calibration.

Information

• Performing an MVC calibration allows the following:

  • Biofeedback plots (bar charts or number displays) to be added

  • Multiple trials in a session to be normalized against the same reference task

  • Live EMG to be displayed as a calibrated RMS trace expressed as a percentage of MVC

• Performing MVC at the start of a data session is the gold standard, but you may normalize post-collection, if desired. Choose either pre-collection MVC calibration or post-collection normalization; if post-collection normalization is preferred, skip Step 3.

1. Access Calibration by clicking the Settings Icon of the sensor you wish to calibrate.

Information

• Calibration is sensor and mode specific; changing sensors or configuration modes requires a new calibration.

• Calibration can only be performed on one sensor at a time.

2. Start MVC Calibration:

   2. Click Calibrate to open the Sensor Calibration Panel.

   3. Select MVC Calibration from the options.

   4. Click Begin.

   5. Rename the calibration (optional), then click Save.

3. If multi-headed sensors are being used, enable Configure All Channels to calibrate all EMG channels.

4. Select “Start Collection” to begin the calibration process.

Information

• Ensure maximum effort during contractions and full relaxation during rest for best results.

5. Save or Repeat:

   5. Once the trial completes, click Save Calibration.

   6. If data quality is poor or effort was submaximal, click Recalibrate to repeat the process.

6. Apply Calibrations

   6. Select the Save option, and this will automatically apply the calibration.

   7. To select another calibration, open Sensor Settings Icon and use the calibration drop-down menu to choose your saved calibration.

   8. Click Apply & Close to confirm.

For detailed instructions, refer to Trigno Discover: Data Collection & Review to learn more about how to collect data

1. Start Collection by clicking Start Collection:

Suggestion

• There is no minimum number of movement repetitions required for Trigno Analytics.

• Performing a maximal contraction at the start of data collection is recommended to provide a reference for normalization if MVC Calibration is not performed in Step 3.

2. Event Marking during data collection (Optional)

   2. Press the F5 key or right-click in the plot area and select to add an event.

   3. Press the F6 key to add an event marker pair.

   4. Click and drag the event marker to reposition it.

Suggestion

• Use a single marker when users want to include all collected data without excluding any portion. E.g., continuous or cyclical movements (e.g., walking or running), where muscle activation occurs throughout the entire activity and all data is relevant for analysis.

• Use paired markers when users want to exclude certain parts of the data. E.g., when multiple jumping trials are recorded with rest periods in between. Paired markers can be used to isolate each exercise and ignore the resting periods.

Information

• Event markers can be created during or after data collection

• For more information on data plotting shortcuts, hover over the “i” icon in the toolbar.

3. Stop Collection and Review Data:

   3. Click the Stop button to end the trial.

   4. After stopping, the complete trial data becomes available for review.

This section explains how to apply a post-collection normalization when an MVC calibration was not performed or when normalization is needed to generate Trigno Analytics reports.

Information

• To access previously collected data for post-collection normalization, navigate to the Review tab in Trigno Discover, select the desired file from the list, and click Review to open it.

1. Click the Signal Transform button and select Normalize to apply a normalization transform.

Information

• Normalization applies an RMS filter to the raw EMG channels, identifies the peak value for each resulting RMS signal, and then expresses all EMG data as a percentage of these peak values.

2. Choose from 300ms (high), 150ms (medium) or 50ms (low).

3. A new data channel will be generated with the transformed data.

Information

• The window overlap is set to 80%. A longer window length results in more smoothing of the signal.

• The window length determines how much data is included in the rolling RMS calculation:

  • 300ms: Suitable for isometric tasks where the signal changes slowly

  • 150ms: A flexible option that can be used for most tasks

  • 50ms: Useful for highly dynamic activities (e.g., sprinting or contact drills), where a shorter window helps capture rapid peaks

This section provides an overview of creating and managing event markers in Trigno Discover, including threshold-based and manual markers, marker pairing, and adjusting or locking markers for accurate analysis. For detailed instructions, refer to Trigno Discover: Event Marking to learn more about how to perform the post-collection event marking.

Information

• To access previously collected data for post-collection event marking, navigate to the Review tab in Trigno Discover, select the desired file from the list, and click Review to open it.

1. Access Event Marker Tools:

   1. Navigate to the Event Marking section on the toolbar.

   2. Choose one of the following methods:

      1. Create Event Markers and Event Markers Based on Threshold: Automatically generates markers when a signal crosses a set threshold, with customizable settings.

      2. Create Event Marker and Marker Groups Manually: Place and manage markers manually at specific time points during data review.

Information

• Place event markers before and after each burst to accurately detect the number of repetitions.

• Event markers can be placed on any data channel.

• For analysis that looks at the whole movement and the coordination of different muscle activation timings within the movement, using an IMU channel is optimal.  

• For analysis that looks purely at amplitude-based statistics of the EMG and not the timing or coordination between muscles, the EMG channel can be used for event marking.