This proposal is to study the faint sounds that can be recorded at the skin surface from the underlying contracting muscle. The hypothesis will be tested that the peak frequency of the sound corresponds to the mechanical resonant frequency of the muscle and that the sound frequency data will allow the determination of muscle stiffness. Time- frequency distributions (Choi-Williams) will be used to characterize the muscle sound. If successful, this work may open up a new noninvasive way of characterizing muscle. This might eventually lead to better diagnostic procedures.
