Abstract
Modelling the mechanical effect of muscles is important in several research and clinical contexts. However, few studies have investigated the effect of different muscle discretizations from a mechanical standpoint. The present study evaluated the errors of a reduced discretization of the lower-limb muscles in reproducing the muscle loading transferred to bones. Skeletal geometries and a muscle data collection were derived from clinical images and dissection studies of two cadaver specimens. The guidelines of a general method previously proposed for a different anatomical district were followed. The data collection was used to calculate the mechanical effect of muscles, i.e. the generalized force vectors, and the errors between a large and a reduced discretization, in a reference skeletal pose and in the extreme poses of the range of motion of joints. The results showed that the errors committed using a reduced representation of muscles could be significant and higher than those reported for a different anatomical region. In particular, the calculated errors were found to be dependent on the individual anatomy and on the skeletal pose. Since different biomechanical applications may require different discretization levels, care is suggested in identifying the number of muscle lines of action to be used in musculoskeletal models.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 161-169 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine |
| Volume | 226 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Feb 2012 |
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Keywords
- Lower limb
- Muscle discretization
- Muscle mechanical effect
- Range of motion of joints
- Subject-specific musculoskeletal modelling
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Mechanical Engineering
- Medicine(all)
Cite this
Muscle discretization affects the loading transferred to bones in lower-limb musculoskeletal models. / Valente, Giordano; Martelli, Saulo; Taddei, Fulvia; Farinella, Giovanna; Viceconti, Marco.
In: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine, Vol. 226, No. 2, 02.2012, p. 161-169.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Muscle discretization affects the loading transferred to bones in lower-limb musculoskeletal models
AU - Valente, Giordano
AU - Martelli, Saulo
AU - Taddei, Fulvia
AU - Farinella, Giovanna
AU - Viceconti, Marco
PY - 2012/2
Y1 - 2012/2
N2 - Modelling the mechanical effect of muscles is important in several research and clinical contexts. However, few studies have investigated the effect of different muscle discretizations from a mechanical standpoint. The present study evaluated the errors of a reduced discretization of the lower-limb muscles in reproducing the muscle loading transferred to bones. Skeletal geometries and a muscle data collection were derived from clinical images and dissection studies of two cadaver specimens. The guidelines of a general method previously proposed for a different anatomical district were followed. The data collection was used to calculate the mechanical effect of muscles, i.e. the generalized force vectors, and the errors between a large and a reduced discretization, in a reference skeletal pose and in the extreme poses of the range of motion of joints. The results showed that the errors committed using a reduced representation of muscles could be significant and higher than those reported for a different anatomical region. In particular, the calculated errors were found to be dependent on the individual anatomy and on the skeletal pose. Since different biomechanical applications may require different discretization levels, care is suggested in identifying the number of muscle lines of action to be used in musculoskeletal models.
AB - Modelling the mechanical effect of muscles is important in several research and clinical contexts. However, few studies have investigated the effect of different muscle discretizations from a mechanical standpoint. The present study evaluated the errors of a reduced discretization of the lower-limb muscles in reproducing the muscle loading transferred to bones. Skeletal geometries and a muscle data collection were derived from clinical images and dissection studies of two cadaver specimens. The guidelines of a general method previously proposed for a different anatomical district were followed. The data collection was used to calculate the mechanical effect of muscles, i.e. the generalized force vectors, and the errors between a large and a reduced discretization, in a reference skeletal pose and in the extreme poses of the range of motion of joints. The results showed that the errors committed using a reduced representation of muscles could be significant and higher than those reported for a different anatomical region. In particular, the calculated errors were found to be dependent on the individual anatomy and on the skeletal pose. Since different biomechanical applications may require different discretization levels, care is suggested in identifying the number of muscle lines of action to be used in musculoskeletal models.
KW - Lower limb
KW - Muscle discretization
KW - Muscle mechanical effect
KW - Range of motion of joints
KW - Subject-specific musculoskeletal modelling
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U2 - 10.1177/0954411911425863
DO - 10.1177/0954411911425863
M3 - Article
VL - 226
SP - 161
EP - 169
JO - Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine
JF - Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine
SN - 0954-4119
IS - 2
ER -