Communications of the ACM
3-D Steps Up to Decode Mobility
Researchers are using a specialized computer program to simulate a patient's movement in 3-D to help uncover the source of a problem, whether it's the size of a particular muscle or bone or the way these components perform.
Credit: Stanford University
Stanford University researchers are using computer-generated three-dimensional simulations of human mobility to improve the lives of people with disabilities. The technique can help reveal the source of a problem and provide a platform for testing different treatments. "People think about cancer and cardiovascular disease as the major problems associated with aging, but mobility is also very important," says Stanford professor Scott Delp.
Two years ago, Delp and his team developed OpenSim, a biomechanical research platform that simulates biological movement and analyzes data on muscle size and strength and joint motion. The team is concentrating on using OpenSim to understand and treat movement disorders such as cerebral palsy. The system allows researchers to study the patient without performing surgery. "If you make a simulation of a subject walking, we can tell you how long the hamstring muscles are during the motion and compare that to normal muscle," says Stanford's Katherine Steele.
View a video of that shows the potential of three muscle groups to accelerate the human body's center of mass while running.
The system provides a standard method for modeling movement that until now has been unavailable, says OpenSim designer Ayman Habib.
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