Usha Kuruganti

Full Professor

Kinesiology, Faculty of

Currie 205

Fredericton

ukurugan@unb.ca
1 506 447 3101



Research interests

  • Neuromuscular physiology
  • Prosthesis control and function
  • Electromyography
  • Biological signal processing
  • Human factors engineering
  • Ergonomics

Current teaching

  • KIN 4162 – Occupational Health and Safety for Ergonomists
  • KIN 4164 – Introduction to Prosthetics
  • KIN 4165 – Occupational Physiology

Biography

Dr. Usha Kuruganti received her B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in electrical engineering and a Ph.D. degree in human factors engineering from the University of New Brunswick. She is a Professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology at UNB, Co-Director of the Andrew and Marjorie McCain Human Performance Laboratory and a registered professional engineer. Her research areas include neuromuscular physiology, biological signal processing, prosthesis control systems, human factors, and ergonomics.

The main focus of her research is to use surface electromyography to obtain muscle activity patterns and to apply specialized biological signal processing techniques to understand the underlying muscle physiology. Her scholarly work focuses on teaching methodologies, problem-based learning and engineering accreditation.

Current research projects

Current research projects focus on the use of multichannel, high density surface electromyography (HDsEMG) to examine neuromuscular function during static and dynamic movement.

Specific research projects include:

  • Using HDsEMG to increase the amount of data extracted during muscle contraction to advance myoelectric control systems for robust multifunction control.
  • New HDEMG System Designs for Next Generation Prosthetic Socket Design
  • Investigating HDsEMG features during typical upper limb prosthesis movement for improved myoelectric control
  • Examining HDsEMG features and motor unit recruitment of the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles during plantarflexion
  • Using EEG signals to examine neural motor drive inhibition

Andrew and Marjorie McCain Human Performance Laboratory

The Andrew and Marjorie McCain Human Performance Laboratory is a state of the art biomechanics and neuromuscular physiology lab. The lab is housed within a 190m jogging track, which facilitates the analysis of various motor tasks including walking, running, and wheeling.

The facility is extensively equipped with a 12 T160 Vicon motion capture system, 6 Kistler force plates, HD EMG, HUMAC Norm isokinetic dynamometer, and Tekscan pressure mats. Our research team consists of undergraduate (USRA, Honours, work study) and graduate students from the Faculty of Kinesiology, and Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Departments.

Selected publications

Green, T., Blustein, D., Chester, V. and Kuruganti, U. (2025). A Comparison of HDsEMG Features Between the Medial and Lateral Soleus During Isometric Plantarflexion. Presented at the 30th Congress of the International Society of Biomechanics, Stockholm, Sweden, July 27-31.

Salazar, M., Green, T. and Kuruganti, U. (2025). A Comparison of Different Methods to Calculate HDsEMG Centroid to Quantify Topographical Changes. Presented at the 30th Congress of the International Society of Biomechanics, Stockholm, Sweden, July 27-31.

Green, T. and Kuruganti, U. (2024). The influence of contraction intensity on muscle activity of the triceps surae in males and females during isometric plantar flexion. Published in the Proceedings of the 25th International Society of Electrophysiology and Kinesiology (ISEK) Conference held in Nagoya, Japan. June 26-29, 2024.

Moncada, E., Green, T., Prasad, A., Kuruganti, U. (2024). Development of a Surface EMG E-Textile. Published in the Proceedings of the 25th International Society of Electrophysiology and Kinesiology (ISEK) Conference held in Nagoya, Japan. June 26-29, 2024.

Irvine, A., Melvin, M., Green, T., Jonna, P., and Kuruganti, U. (2024). Prosthesis users demonstrate similar HD-EMG spatial parameters of the upper limb during slow, moderate and fast isokinetic contractions compared to controls. Published in the Proceedings of the 25th International Society of Electrophysiology and Kinesiology (ISEK) Conference held in Nagoya, Japan. June 26-29, 2024.

Ortiz, O., Kuruganti, U., Chester, V., Wilson, A., Blustein, D. (2023). Changes in EEG alpha-band power during prehension indicates neural motor drive inhibition. Journal of Neurophysiology, 130.

Wright, E., Chester, V., Kuruganti U. (2022). Identifying the Optimal Parameters to Express the Capacity–Activity Interrelationship of Community-Dwelling Older Adults Using Wearable Sensors. Sensors, 22(24), 9648.

Pradhan, A., Kuruganti, U., Hill, W., Jiang, N., Chester, V. (2020). Robust Simultaneous and Proportional Myoelectric Control Scheme for Individuals with Transradial Amputations. Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc.

Pradhan, A. Kuruganti, U., and Chester, V. (2020). Biomechanical Parameters and Clinical Assessment Scores for Identifying Elderly Fallers Based on Balance and Dynamic Tasks. IEEE Access, vol. 8, pp. 193532-193543. (2020).

Pradhan, A., Jiang, N., Chester, V., and Kuruganti, U. (2020). Linear Regression with Frequency Division Technique for Robust Simultaneous and Proportional Myoelectric Control during Medium and High Contraction-Level Variation. Biomedical Signal Processing and Control 61.

Pradhan, A., Malagon, G., Lagacy, R., Chester, V., and Kuruganti, U. (2020). Age and sex related changes in muscle activity patterns during isokinetic and isometric knee extension in men and women. Journal of Physiological Anthropology 39(1):11.

Chouinard, J., Chester, V. and Kuruganti, U. (2019). Adapting Isokinetic Dynamometry to Accommodate Transradial Amputation: The Development of a New Dynamometer Attachment and User Case Study. Cogent Engineering, 6(1), 1-12.