Abstract Archive

The pattern of variability found in stride-to-stride fluctuations has been identified as fractal. Being fractal means that, in a healthy system, these physiological processes have time intervals between events that are neither equal nor independent. The statistical proprieties of these fluctuations ...

Head and neck injuries are common in vehicle rollovers. To provide novel insights into the pre-crash dynamics of vehicle occupants and to improve current surrogate models, we developed a device that records the neck’s vertebral alignment and muscle activity via fluoroscopy and electromyography in ...

This study aimed to verify which normalization procedure (mass or non-dimensional normalization) better eliminates the influence of body parameters on joint moments during stair ascent in the elderly. None of the tested methods was able to consistently remove the influence of body parameters on join...

We investigate how noise during laxity trials affect optimisation-based estimations of knee ligament properties. One subject-specific knee model with known ligament properties was created. Four sets of laxity trials, with an increasing number of load cases, were simulated and uniform noise ([-0.5, 0...

The purpose of this study was to examine the strength ratios between limbs, and the muscular performance in paediatric patients with an ACL injury throughout an isokinetic muscular endurance task. Ten paediatric participants completed 44 dynamic maximal flexion/extension repetitions on a Biodex Dyna...

High-speed video analysis has been used to measure certain kinematic metrics during a competitive diver’s performance. However, it is time-consuming and limited in accuracy. An inertial measurement unit (IMU) may substitute video analysis. However, IMUs must be evaluated before implementation. Thi...

This study aims to present a method of quantifying regional load transfer between consecutive footsteps in typically developed children to determine the effect of the proceeding step on foot ground pressures during the subsequent step.

Electrical vestibular stimulation (EVS) can be used to manipulate the vestibular input to the medial gastrocnemius muscle (MG). The aims of this study were: 1) to identify the lowest noisy EVS amplitude that results in modulation of MG activity; 2) to identify whether a motor unit response to EVS is...

Patients who are candidates for transtibial amputation have a limb preservation option in the Intrepid Dynamic Exoskeletal Orthosis (IDEO). Power and work produced by structures distal to the knee are compared between these patient groups in this study. IDEOs and prosthetic ankle-foot devices are fo...

The results of this study suggest that ACL stiffness predicted from a combination of 3D ACL graft volume and signal intensity explains up to 80% of the variation in anterior tibial position at the time of contact during a one-leg hop-for-distance test in a cohort of ACL-reconstructed patients. This ...

Multifractal Correlation Analysis (MFC) was used to study coordination between walkers and noisy metronomes. Results revealed stronger patterns of coordination between walkers and a fractal metronome in comparison to a white noise or periodic one, indicating improved walking adaptability.

Commercially available lower-limb prostheses do not provide sensory feedback. Thus, amputees develop compensatory mechanisms to regain an effective postural control. In this work, we investigated the neuromuscular adaptations occurring after a lower-limb amputation. The dynamics and spatial structur...

We developed an automatic design programme to manufacture customized ankle-foot orthoses (AFOs). This kind of customized AFOs were much suitable for patients, because they prevent rubbing against foot and orthosis. First, we used a 3D scanner to obtain the foot 3D model, and then entered the data in...

Lower-limb joint impedance is governed by inter-muscular length, velocity, and force-dependent feedback. These feedback pathways regulate the stiffness and damping properties of the lower-limb by modulating muscle activation. The network of length, velocity, and force-dependent feedback pathways is ...

Patellofemoral pain (PFP) is a common pathology that often requires rehabilitation exercises such as lunges to strengthen leg musculature. We examined the joint reaction forces at the knee during different phases of forward and backward lunges. Peak quadriceps force and patellofemoral (PF) joint rea...

Closed-loop tactile biofeedback (TBF), delivered during the stance phase of gait, created a change in local dynamic stability in people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) while walking. TBF decreased the rate of local divergence compared to baseline and open-loop cueing (metronome), but this effect was...

We performed a six-month longitudinal study addressing minimal shoes versus conventional shoes as daily footwear. Focussing on peak plantar pressures and on foot metrics, we did not find significant differences between the pre and post measurements.

The effects of hip arthroscopy on hip joint mechanics and cartilage health in patients with femoroacetabular impingement syndrome (FAIS) are not well understood. In our exploratory study, patients with FAIS exhibited abnormal hip joint mechanics both prior to and after hip arthroscopy, when compared...

Power-walking has an increasing popularity in fitness and rehab-programs, due to its expected lower impact forces. The study showed a lower impact forces than jogging and between 15% and 76% higher muscular activity than walking.

A method for identifying mechanical properties of arterial tissue in vivo is used to predict the stress state of the human abdominal aorta. The parameter identification method accounts for the arterial wall constituents, namely the isotropic non-collagenous material and the anisotropic collagen fibr...

Foot placement is critical to balance control and is largely performed by muscles. Although gluteus medius activity has been associated with mediolateral (ML) foot placement, it is unknown how other muscles contribute to ML as well as anteroposterior (AP) foot placement. This study investigated musc...

This study tests the feasibility of a cost-effective concept for measuring plantar pressure in people with diabetic foot during activities of daily living. A 3D-printable cushioning material with complex mechanical behaviour was produced and tested. The results indicated that mapping the changes in ...

Mouth protectors (i.e. mouthguards) are devices that are used in many sports in an effort to protect orofacial anatomy, in particular teeth, from injury, including impact-induced injury. There is limited biomechanical literature examining the mechanics of these impact-induced injuries. This prelimin...

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the dynamic knee joint stiffness of paediatric females with and without an ACL rupture. Healthy and injured paediatric females performed five bilateral squats and completed the Pedi-IKDC questionnaire. While the Pedi-IKDC indicated a significant change in fu...

The present work compares the anticipatory postural adjustments in forward and backward stepping, taking also into account the effect of wearing shoes while performing this task. Eighteen healthy subjects participated in the study, performing 10 trials on a forceplate for each of the four conditions...

Gymball - a portable and compact gyroscopic device was developed for hand rehabilitation. This pilot study validated the device’s design and assessed the prospect of using it for therapy. Specifically, the study focused on whether: (i) the gyroscopic torque, generated by the device, can passively ...

Owning to sufficient stiffness at room temperature, rapid shape memory ability when exposed to body temperature, in vivo stability and soft nature to matching the mechanical properties of soft tissue, poly(glycerol-dodecanoate) (PGD) is a promising biodegradable polymer which could be applied as sof...

Compliant fingers are essential for fine manipulation. Like a slender column, a compliant finger is prone to buckle when exerting fingertip forces. But, healthy human fingers rarely buckle. So, we investigated how the neuromuscular system stabilizes finger contacts. Stability may be a by-product of ...

The (re)learning of motor skills relevant to real environments and tools should emphasize the ability to anticipate complex dynamics. In this novel paradigm for unstable interactive sonification (UNISON) participants learned to entrain the dynamics of a chaotic system through their arm movements. Im...

Tissue stiffness is an important measurement but is difficult to measure accurately. A multiple linear regression model was developed to predict exponential growth and scale parameters. Test location, location circumference, and BMI were all significant factors in predicting local tissue stiffness.