02 Fakultät Bau- und Umweltingenieurwissenschaften
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://elib.uni-stuttgart.de/handle/11682/3
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Item Open Access Linking cortex and contraction : integrating models along the corticomuscular pathway(2023) Haggie, Lysea; Schmid, Laura; Röhrle, Oliver; Besier, Thor; McMorland, Angus; Saini, HarnoorComputational models of the neuromusculoskeletal system provide a deterministic approach to investigate input-output relationships in the human motor system. Neuromusculoskeletal models are typically used to estimate muscle activations and forces that are consistent with observed motion under healthy and pathological conditions. However, many movement pathologies originate in the brain, including stroke, cerebral palsy, and Parkinson’s disease, while most neuromusculoskeletal models deal exclusively with the peripheral nervous system and do not incorporate models of the motor cortex, cerebellum, or spinal cord. An integrated understanding of motor control is necessary to reveal underlying neural-input and motor-output relationships. To facilitate the development of integrated corticomuscular motor pathway models, we provide an overview of the neuromusculoskeletal modelling landscape with a focus on integrating computational models of the motor cortex, spinal cord circuitry, α-motoneurons and skeletal muscle in regard to their role in generating voluntary muscle contraction. Further, we highlight the challenges and opportunities associated with an integrated corticomuscular pathway model, such as challenges in defining neuron connectivities, modelling standardisation, and opportunities in applying models to study emergent behaviour. Integrated corticomuscular pathway models have applications in brain-machine-interaction, education, and our understanding of neurological disease.Item Open Access Determination of muscle shape deformations of the tibialis anterior during dynamic contractions using 3D ultrasound(2024) Sahrmann, Annika S.; Vosse, Lukas; Siebert, Tobias; Handsfield, Geoffrey G.; Röhrle, OliverPurpose: In this paper, we introduce a novel method for determining 3D deformations of the human tibialis anterior (TA) muscle during dynamic movements using 3D ultrasound. Materials and Methods: An existing automated 3D ultrasound system is used for data acquisition, which consists of three moveable axes, along which the probe can move. While the subjects perform continuous plantar- and dorsiflexion movements in two different controlled velocities, the ultrasound probe sweeps cyclically from the ankle to the knee along the anterior shin. The ankle joint angle can be determined using reflective motion capture markers. Since we considered the movement direction of the foot, i.e., active or passive TA, four conditions occur: slow active, slow passive, fast active, fast passive. By employing an algorithm which defines ankle joint angle intervals, i.e., intervals of range of motion (ROM), 3D images of the volumes during movement can be reconstructed. Results: We found constant muscle volumes between different muscle lengths, i.e., ROM intervals. The results show an increase in mean cross-sectional area (CSA) for TA muscle shortening. Furthermore, a shift in maximum CSA towards the proximal side of the muscle could be observed for muscle shortening. We found significantly different maximum CSA values between the fast active and all other conditions, which might be caused by higher muscle activation due to the faster velocity. Conclusion: In summary, we present a method for determining muscle volume deformation during dynamic contraction using ultrasound, which will enable future empirical studies and 3D computational models of skeletal muscles.Item Open Access Effect of neglecting passive spinal structures : a quantitative investigation using the forward-dynamics and inverse-dynamics musculoskeletal approach(2023) Meszaros-Beller, Laura; Hammer, Maria; Schmitt, Syn; Pivonka, PeterInverse-dynamics (ID) analysis is an approach widely used for studying spine biomechanics and the estimation of muscle forces. Despite the increasing structural complexity of spine models, ID analysis results substantially rely on accurate kinematic data that most of the current technologies are not capable to provide. For this reason, the model complexity is drastically reduced by assuming three degrees of freedom spherical joints and generic kinematic coupling constraints. Moreover, the majority of current ID spine models neglect the contribution of passive structures. The aim of this ID analysis study was to determine the impact of modelled passive structures (i.e., ligaments and intervertebral discs) on remaining joint forces and torques that muscles must balance in the functional spinal unit. For this purpose, an existing generic spine model developed for the use in the demoa software environment was transferred into the musculoskeletal modelling platform OpenSim. The thoracolumbar spine model previously used in forward-dynamics (FD) simulations provided a full kinematic description of a flexion-extension movement. By using the obtained in silico kinematics, ID analysis was performed. The individual contribution of passive elements to the generalised net joint forces and torques was evaluated in a step-wise approach increasing the model complexity by adding individual biological structures of the spine. The implementation of intervertebral discs and ligaments has significantly reduced compressive loading and anterior torque that is attributed to the acting net muscle forces by −200% and −75%, respectively. The ID model kinematics and kinetics were cross-validated against the FD simulation results. This study clearly shows the importance of incorporating passive spinal structures on the accurate computation of remaining joint loads. Furthermore, for the first time, a generic spine model was used and cross-validated in two different musculoskeletal modelling platforms, i.e., demoa and OpenSim, respectively. In future, a comparison of neuromuscular control strategies for spinal movement can be investigated using both approaches.Item Open Access Patient‐specific simulation of brain tumour growth and regression(2023) Suditsch, Marlon; Ricken, Tim; Wagner, ArndtThe medical relevance of brain tumours is characterised by its locally invasive and destructive growth. With a high mortality rate combined with a short remaining life expectancy, brain tumours are identified as highly malignant. A continuum‐mechanical model for the description of the governing processes of growth and regression is derived in the framework of the Theory of Porous Media (TPM). The model is based on medical multi‐modal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, which represent the gold standard in diagnosis. The multi‐phase model is described mathematically via strongly coupled partial differential equations. This set of governing equations is transformed into their weak formulation and is solved with the software package FEniCS. A proof‐of‐concept simulation based on one patient geometry and tumour pathology shows the relevant processes of tumour growth and the results are discussed.Item Open Access Analysing the bone cement flow in the injection apparatus during vertebroplasty(2023) Trivedi, Zubin; Gehweiler, Dominic; Wychowaniec, Jacek K.; Ricken, Tim; Gueorguiev-Rüegg, Boyko; Wagner, Arndt; Röhrle, OliverVertebroplasty, a medical procedure for treating vertebral fractures, requires medical practitioners to inject bone cement inside the vertebra using a cannula attached to a syringe. The required injection force must be small enough for the practitioner to apply it by hand while remaining stable for a controlled injection. Several factors could make the injection force unintuitive for the practitioners, one of them being the non‐Newtonian nature of the bone cement. The viscosity of the bone cement varies as it flows through the different parts of the injection apparatus and the porous cancellous interior of the vertebra. Therefore, it is important to study the flow of bone cement through these parts. This work is a preliminary study on the flow of bone cement through the injection apparatus. Firstly, we obtained the rheological parameters for the power law model of bone cement using experiments using standard clinical equipment. These parameters were then used to obtain the shear rate, viscosity, and velocity profiles of the bone cement flow through the cannula. Lastly, an analysis was carried out to understand the influence of various geometrical parameters of the injection apparatus, in which the radius of the cannula was found to be the most influential parameter.Item Open Access An investigation of tendon strains in jersey finger injury load cases using a finite element neuromuscular human body model(2023) Nölle, Lennart V.; Alfaro, Eduardo Herrera; Martynenko, Oleksandr V.; Schmitt, SynIntroduction: A common hand injury in American football, rugby and basketball is the so-called jersey finger injury (JFI), in which an eccentric overextension of the distal interphalangeal joint leads to an avulsion of the connected musculus flexor digitorum profundus (FDP) tendon. In the field of automotive safety assessment, finite element (FE) neuromuscular human body models (NHBMs) have been validated and are employed to evaluate different injury types related to car crash scenarios. The goal of this study is to show, how such a model can be modified to assess JFIs by adapting the hand of an FE-NHBM for the computational analysis of tendon strains during a generalized JFI load case. Methods: A jersey finger injury criterion (JFIC) covering the injury mechanisms of tendon straining and avulsion was defined based on biomechanical experiments found in the literature. The hand of the Total Human Model for Safety (THUMS) version 3.0 was combined with the musculature of THUMS version 5.03 to create a model with appropriate finger mobility. Muscle routing paths of FDP and musculus flexor digitorum superficialis (FDS) as well as tendon material parameters were optimized using literature data. A simplified JFI load case was simulated as the gripping of a cylindrical rod with finger flexor activation levels between 0% and 100%, which was then retracted with the velocity of a sprinting college football player to forcefully open the closed hand. Results: The optimization of the muscle routing node positions and tendon material parameters yielded good results with minimum normalized mean absolute error values of 0.79% and 7.16% respectively. Tendon avulsion injuries were detected in the middle and little finger for muscle activation levels of 80% and above, while no tendon or muscle strain injuries of any kind occurred. Discussion: The presented work outlines the steps necessary to adapt the hand model of a FE-NHBM for the assessment of JFIs using a newly defined injury criterion called the JFIC. The injury assessment results are in good agreement with documented JFI symptoms. At the same time, the need to rethink commonly asserted paradigms concerning the choice of muscle material parameters is highlighted.Item Open Access Multi-scale mechanobiological model for skeletal muscle hypertrophy(2022) Villota Narvaez, Yesid Alexis; Garzón-Alvarado, Diego A.; Röhrle, Oliver; Ramírez-Martínez, Angelica M.Skeletal muscle adaptation is correlated to training exercise by triggering different signaling pathways that target many functions; in particular, the IGF1-AKT pathway controls protein synthesis and degradation. These two functions regulate the adaptation in size and strength of muscles. Computational models for muscle adaptation have focused on: the biochemical description of signaling pathways or the mechanical description of muscle function at organ scale; however, an interrelation between these two models should be considered to understand how an adaptation in muscle size affects the protein synthesis rate. In this research, a dynamical model for the IGF1-AKT signaling pathway is linked to a continuum-mechanical model describing the active and passive mechanical response of a muscle; this model is used to study the impact of the adaptive muscle geometry on the protein synthesis at the fiber scale. This new computational model links the signaling pathway to the mechanical response by introducing a growth tensor, and links the mechanical response to the signaling pathway through the evolution of the protein synthesis rate. The predicted increase in cross sectional area (CSA) due to an 8 weeks training protocol excellently agreed with experimental data. Further, our results show that muscle growth rate decreases, if the correlation between protein synthesis and CSA is negative. The outcome of this study suggests that multi-scale models coupling continuum mechanical properties and molecular functions may improve muscular therapies and training protocols.Item Open Access ‘Falling heads’ : investigating reflexive responses to head-neck perturbations(2022) Wochner, Isabell; Nölle, Lennart V.; Martynenko, Oleksandr V.; Schmitt, SynBackground: Reflexive responses to head-neck perturbations affect the injury risk in many different situations ranging from sports-related impact to car accident scenarios. Although several experiments have been conducted to investigate these head-neck responses to various perturbations, it is still unclear why and how individuals react differently and what the implications of these different responses across subjects on the potential injuries might be. Therefore, we see a need for both experimental data and biophysically valid computational Human Body Models with bio-inspired muscle control strategies to understand individual reflex responses better.
Methods: To address this issue, we conducted perturbation experiments of the head-neck complex and used this data to examine control strategies in a simulation model. In the experiments, which we call ’falling heads’ experiments, volunteers were placed in a supine and a prone position on a table with an additional trapdoor supporting the head. This trapdoor was suddenly released, leading to a free-fall movement of the head until reflexive responses of muscles stopped the downwards movement.
Results: We analysed the kinematic, neuronal and dynamic responses for all individuals and show their differences for separate age and sex groups. We show that these results can be used to validate two simple reflex controllers which are able to predict human biophysical movement and modulate the response necessary to represent a large variability of participants.
Conclusions: We present characteristic parameters such as joint stiffness, peak accelerations and latency times. Based on this data, we show that there is a large difference in the individual reflexive responses between participants. Furthermore, we show that the perturbation direction (supine vs. prone) significantly influences the measured kinematic quantities. Finally, ’falling heads’ experiments data are provided open-source to be used as a benchmark test to compare different muscle control strategies and to validate existing active Human Body Models directly.Item Open Access A new method to design energy-conserving surrogate models for the coupled, nonlinear responses of intervertebral discs(2024) Hammer, Maria; Wenzel, Tizian; Santin, Gabriele; Meszaros-Beller, Laura; Little, Judith Paige; Haasdonk, Bernard; Schmitt, SynThe aim of this study was to design physics-preserving and precise surrogate models of the nonlinear elastic behaviour of an intervertebral disc (IVD). Based on artificial force-displacement data sets from detailed finite element (FE) disc models, we used greedy kernel and polynomial approximations of second, third and fourth order to train surrogate models for the scalar force-torque-potential. Doing so, the resulting models of the elastic IVD responses ensured the conservation of mechanical energy through their structure. At the same time, they were capable of predicting disc forces in a physiological range of motion and for the coupling of all six degrees of freedom of an intervertebral joint. The performance of all surrogate models for a subject-specific L4|5 disc geometry was evaluated both on training and test data obtained from uncoupled (one-dimensional), weakly coupled (two-dimensional), and random movement trajectories in the entire six-dimensional (6d) physiological displacement range, as well as on synthetic kinematic data. We observed highest precisions for the kernel surrogate followed by the fourth-order polynomial model. Both clearly outperformed the second-order polynomial model which is equivalent to the commonly used stiffness matrix in neuro-musculoskeletal simulations. Hence, the proposed model architectures have the potential to improve the accuracy and, therewith, validity of load predictions in neuro-musculoskeletal spine models.Item Open Access Effects of blood flow restriction on motoneurons synchronization(2025) Taleshi, Mansour; Bubeck, Franziska; Gizzi, Leonardo; Vujaklija, IvanBlood flow restriction (BFR) is a peripheral intervention that induces transient and reversible physiological perturbations. While this intervention offers a unique model to explore neuromuscular responses in multiple contexts, its impact on neural input to motoneurons remains unclear. Here, the influence of BFR on muscle force control, behavior, and neural input to motoneurons during isometric-trapezoidal and isometric-sinusoidal little finger abduction precision tasks has been studied. Sixteen healthy participants performed the tasks under pre-BFR, during BFR, and at two post-BFR conditions. High-density surface electromyography (EMG) was recorded from the abductor digiti minimi muscle, and motor unit spike trains (MUST) were decomposed using blind source separation technique. Coherence between cumulative spike trains (CSTs) of identified motor units was calculated to assess common synaptic input in the delta and alpha frequency bands. As expected, during BFR application, participants reported higher level of discomfort and significant deterioration in force-tracking performance, as measured using root mean square error (RMSE). Following the BFR release, the level of discomfort, along with impaired neuromuscular performance were reduced to pre-BFR condition. Coherence analysis revealed a prominent peak in the alpha band. The mean z-score coherence in the alpha band showed a reduction of 27% for isometric-trapezoidal and 31% for isometric-sinusoidal conditions from pre-BFR to BFR, followed by a rebound post-BFR intervention with increases of 13% and 20%, respectively. In the delta band, coherence values were consistently higher during sinusoidal tasks compared to trapezoidal ones. These findings indicate that brief BFR application led to decrease in motoneuron synchronization and force control precision likely due to desensitization as shown by changes in coherence alpha band.