Advantages of ECG EEG EMG | disadvantages of ECG EEG EMG

This page covers advantages and disadvantages of ECG, EEG and EMG. It mentions ECG advantages, EEG advantages, EMG advantages, ECG disadvantages, EEG disadvantages and EMG disadvantages.

Introduction:
ECG stands for Electro-cardiogram, EEG stands for Electro-encephalogram and EMG stands for Electro-myography. These are biomedical tests used for checking health related status of various body parts of human beings.

ECG test: Used to test irregularities in the heart.
EEG test: Used to test abnormalities in the brain.
EMG test: Used to test skeletal muscles.

Refer basics of ECG, EEG and EMG tests >>.

Benefits or advantages of ECG

ECG test waveforms

Following are the benefits or advantages of ECG :
➨It is highly diagnostic method as it represents data in topographic form.
➨It is highly informative And provide informations such as chest pain, shortness of breath, abdominal pain etc.
➨It can detect any silent cardiac condition which could be result of surgery and anesthesia.
➨It analyzes signal from heart and produces result in graphical form.
➨It is safe method.
➨It is inexpensive method.
➨It is easy to perform.
➨The ECG equipments are widely available.
➨Cloud computing has made dta available to remote doctors with minimum time. This saves cost of separate investments in cloud computing infrastructures.

Drawbacks or disadvantages of ECG

Following are the disadvantages of ECG :
➨It provides static picture which may not reflect severe underlying heart issues related to patients.
➨It uses wires and probes for testing, it restricts body movement.

Benefits or advantages of EEG

EEG test

Following are the benefits or advantages of EEG :
➨Low cost
➨Low morbidity
➨Readily repeatable
➨Portable
➨Provides some spatial or localization information
➨Though it is measure of brain function, it supplements neuroimaging studies.
➨It provides direct evidence of epileptic abnormality.
➨It is the only test which shows abnormalities in epileptic patients.

Drawbacks or disadvantages of EEG

Following are the disadvantages of EEG:
➨Low spatial resolution on scalp.
➨Determines neural activity poorly below the upper layers of brain.
➨It requires long time to connect subject with the EEG machine.
➨S/N ratio is poor.
➨It detects cortical dysfunction but rarely discloses its etiology.
➨It has lower sensitivity.
➨It is subject to both electrical and physiological artifacts.
➨Small or deep lesions might not produce EEG abnormality.
➨Influenced by state of alertness, hypoglycaemia, drugs.
➨may falsely localize epileptogenic zone.

Benefits or advantages of EMG

EMG electromyogram

EMG is indicator for muscle activation and deactivation. EMG signal ranges from 7 to 20 Hz based on size of muscle with amplitude in the range from 50 µV to 30 mV.

Following are the benefits or advantages of EMG:
➨EMG machine detects electrical potential produced by muscle cells when these cells are electrically or neurologically activated.
➨The monitored signals are converted into electrical form which can be turned into speech.
➨It can be used for diagnosis of neurogenic or myogenic diseases.

Drawbacks or disadvantages of EMG

Following are the disadvantages of EMG:
➨As this method requires needle electrodes to be inserted through skin into muscle tissue, it is painful method.
➨The method monitors nerve roots only.
➨The method gives less accurate results due to disturbance from surroundings when surface electrodes are used.


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