Biomechanics

Biomechanics is a vast discipline within the field of Biomedical Engineering. It explores the underlying mechanics of how biological and physiological systems move. It encompasses important clinical applications to address questions related to medicine using engineering mechanics principles. Biomechanics includes interdisciplinary concepts from engineers, physicians, therapists, biologists, physicists, and mathematicians. Through their collaborative efforts, biomechanics research is ever changing and expanding, explaining new mechanisms and principles for dynamic human systems. Biomechanics is used to describe how the human body moves, walks, and breathes, in addition to how it responds to injury and rehabilitation. Advanced biomechanical modeling methods, such as inverse dynamics, finite element analysis, and musculoskeletal modeling are used to simulate and investigate human situations in regard to movement and injury. Biomechanical technologies are progressing to answer contemporary medical questions. The future of biomechanics is dependent on interdisciplinary research efforts and the education of tomorrow’s scientists

A novel push-pull central-lever mechanism reduces peak forces and energy-cost compared to hand-rim wheelchair propulsion during a controlled lab-based experiment

BACKGROUND: Hand-rim wheelchair propulsion is straining and mechanically inefficient, often leading to upper limb complaints. Previous push–pull lever propulsion mechanisms have shown to perform better or equal in efficiency and physiological strain. Propulsion biomechanics have not been evaluated thus far. A novel push–pull central-lever propulsion mechanism is compared to conventional hand-rim wheelchair propulsion, using both physiological and biomechanical outcomes under low-intensity steady-state conditions on a motor driven treadmill. METHODS: In this 5 day (distributed over a maximum of 21 days) between-group experiment, 30 able-bodied novices performed 60 min (5 × 3 × 4 min) of practice in either the push–pull central lever wheelchair (n = 15) or the hand-rim wheelchair (n = 15). At the first and final sessions cardiopulmonary strain, propulsion kinematics and force production were determined in both instrumented propulsion mechanisms. Repeated measures ANOVA evaluated between (propulsion mechanism type), within (over practice) and interaction effects. RESULTS: Over practice, both groups significantly improved on all outcome measures. After practice the peak forces during the push and pull phase of lever propulsion were considerably lower compared to those in the handrim push phase (42 ± 10 & 46 ± 10 vs 63 ± 21N). Concomitantly, energy expenditure was found to be lower as well (263 ± 45 vs 298 ± 59W), on the other hand gross mechanical efficiency (6.4 ± 1.5 vs 5.9 ± 1.3%), heart-rate (97 ± 10 vs 98 ± 10 bpm) and perceived exertion (9 ± 2 vs 10 ± 1) were not significantly different between modes. CONCLUSION: The current study shows the potential benefits of the newly designed push–pull central-lever propulsion mechanism over regular hand rim wheelchair propulsion. The much lower forces and energy expenditure might help to reduce the strain on the upper extremities and thus prevent the development of overuse injury. This proof of concept in a controlled laboratory experiment warrants continued experimental research in wheelchair-users during daily life

The ergonomics of wheelchair configuration for optimal sport performance

The ergonomics of wheelchair configuration for optimal sport performanc

Performance Benefits of Customised Seating Interfaces for Elite Wheelchair Racing Athletes

The limited customisation in commercially available wheelchairs does not always appropriately accommodate the anthropometric variations resulting from specific impairment. Wheelchair racing athletes demonstrate up to 3.8% total body mass greater in the upper extremities, and up 9.8% total body mass reductions in their lower extremities, and between-limb asymmetries of 62.4%. As a consequence, athletes may not have the stable base of support required for optimal propulsion. The optimisation of an entire wheelchair to match unique athlete geometry is both time consuming and costly, as wheelchairs cost over $2000 each. The use of assistive technology can provide an efficient transition between the commercially available equipment and the unique athlete anthropometry. Customised seating interfaces offer a time and cost effective solution, facilitating regular modifications to satisfy athlete growth. These solutions have been used extensively in clinical applications for enhanced stress distribution and injury prevention at the seating interface; however, they have not yet been applied to sporting contexts. The goal of this research was to investigate the performance impact of customised seating interfaces on wheelchair racing propulsion technique. Supplementary goals included the development of practically viable instrumentation solutions and a musculoskeletal model representative of the unique wheelchair racing athlete anthropometries and physical capabilities to assess injury risk to analyse performance impact holistically. The research was split into four main themes: 1. Verification of the importance of the seating interface relative to other key performance parameters such as aerodynamics and glove selection. 2. Instrumentation of the hand-pushrim and seating interfaces 3. Development of a musculoskeletal model 4. Computational modelling of performance and injury risk Computational modelling was performed in the OpenSim environment which coupled kinematic inputs from 3D motion capture (VICON Bonita V16; Oxford Metrics, Oxford, United Kingdom), with kinetic inputs from a pressure mat at the seating interface (XSensor LX100; Calgary, Alberta, Canada) and inertial measurement units (IMUs) (I Measure U; New Zealand) to estimate the hand-interface interactions. This was achieved using Newton’s Second Law, incorporating athlete-specific mass data (from the analysis DXA scans), and acceleration measured from the IMU. Customised seating interfaces reduced the undesirable peak translations of the knee by up to 41.8% and lateral translation of the spine by 33.4%. These translated towards enhanced performance, with an average performance time reduction of 29.8 s (3.7% race time) in the eight international competitions following the inclusion of the customised seating interface. Additionally, athletes using cushioned seating interfaces had reduced peak pressures at the seating interface as compared to those without the interface. Instrumentation can be used outside the laboratory environments, and can, therefore, be applied in the daily training environment to optimise performance preparation. This research provided foundation work for the use of computational biomechanical analyses for the holistic assessment of wheelchair racing performance. Whilst this research has demonstrated the potential impact computational modelling approaches can have on the performance preparation of athletes, some areas for further refinement have been identified. Future research into the processing of IMU data and the validation of musculoskeletal models for wheelchair racing athletes are the critical areas for improvement. Once achieved, the computational modelling approaches explored in this research can positively impact performance outcome, particularly when coupled with the optimisation of equipment, such as customised seating interfaces.Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Mechanical Engineering, 201

介助者の自律駆動規範モデルを用いた介助用車いすの補助動力制御

関西大

Biomechanical Modelling of Paralympic Wheelchair Curling

This research represents the first documented investigation into the biomechanics and neural motor control of Paralympic wheelchair curling. A multibody biomechanical model of the wheelchair curling delivery was developed in reference to a Team Canada Paralympic athlete with a spinal cord injury. Subject-specific body segment parameters were quantified via dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. The angular joint kinematics throughout the wheelchair curling delivery were experimentally measured using an inertial measurement unit system; the translational kinematics of the curling stone were additionally evaluated with optical motion capture. The experimental kinematics were optimized to satisfy the kinematic constraints of the multibody biomechanical model. The optimized kinematics were subsequently used to compute the resultant joint moments through inverse dynamics analysis. The neural motor control of the Paralympic athlete was modeled using forward dynamic optimization. The predicted kinematics from different optimization objective functions were compared with those experimentally measured throughout the wheelchair curling delivery. Of the optimization objective functions under consideration, minimizing angular joint accelerations resulted in the most accurate predictions of the kinematic trajectories and the shortest optimization computation time. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to musculoskeletal modeling and optimal equipment design through predictive simulation

“But, I Don’t Want/Need a Power Wheelchair”: Toward Accessible Power Assistance for Manual Wheelchairs

Power assist devices help manual wheelchair users to propel their wheelchair thus increasing their independence and reducing the risk of upper limb injuries due to excessive use. These benefits can be invaluable for people that already have upper limb joint pain and reduced muscular strength. However, it is not clear if the way that assistance is provided by such devices is what manual wheelchair users need and expect. 12 manual wheelchair users were interviewed to understand: the situations in which they find it difficult to propel their wheelchairs; situations they considered paramount to have power assistance; their experience or knowledge of power assist devices; and likes and dislikes of commercially available power assist devices. Finally, they were asked to comment on their ideal form factor of a power assist device. Users have suggested improvements of the devices' accessibility and visualized new ways in which they could interact with the technology. These interactions involve "chairable" devices independent from, but not excluding, wearable devices and mobile applications. We have identified the need of monitoring emotions and the need for designing an open source do-it-yourself wheelchair propelling assistance device which we believe is required equally in developed and in developing countries

Book of Abstracts 15th International Symposium on Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering and 3rd Conference on Imaging and Visualization

In this edition, the two events will run together as a single conference, highlighting the strong connection with the Taylor & Francis journals: Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering (John Middleton and Christopher Jacobs, Eds.) and Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering: Imaging and Visualization (JoãoManuel R.S. Tavares, Ed.). The conference has become a major international meeting on computational biomechanics, imaging andvisualization. In this edition, the main program includes 212 presentations. In addition, sixteen renowned researchers will give plenary keynotes, addressing current challenges in computational biomechanics and biomedical imaging. In Lisbon, for the first time, a session dedicated to award the winner of the Best Paper in CMBBE Journal will take place. We believe that CMBBE2018 will have a strong impact on the development of computational biomechanics and biomedical imaging and visualization, identifying emerging areas of research and promoting the collaboration and networking between participants. This impact is evidenced through the well-known research groups, commercial companies and scientific organizations, who continue to support and sponsor the CMBBE meeting series. In fact, the conference is enriched with five workshops on specific scientific topics and commercial software.info:eu-repo/semantics/draf

International Conference on NeuroRehabilitation 2012

This volume 3, number 2 gathers a set of articles based on the most outstanding research on accessibility and disability issues that was presented in the International Conference on NeuroRehabilitation 2012 (ICNR).The articles’ research present in this number is centred on the analysis and/or rehabilitation of body impairment most due to brain injury and neurological disorders.JACCES thanks the collaboration of the ICNR members and the research authors and reviewers that have collaborated for making possible that issue