Project Info

3D Modeling of Structural Variation Effects on Muscle Contraction Biomechanics

Katie Knaus
katherine.knaus@mines.edu

Project Goals and Description:

Muscles play an important role in mobility and human performance by producing forces needed to move the body. A muscle’s capacity to produce force is related to its structure, such that when muscles change in structure movement performance changes too. Muscles can change in structure throughout lifespan due to physiological shifts from influences like exercise, pregnancy, or aging. While we can measure changes in muscle structure in these different conditions, it is not always clear how changes in performance are linked to these muscle structure changes. Computational modeling helps us to mechanistically determine how differences in muscle structure relate to differences in their force production functionality. The goal of this project is to use computational modeling to quantify mechanical differences in simulations of functional contractions of muscles with different structures. Specifically, we will use computer aided design (CAD) to create 3D models of muscles with different structures based on experimental measurements. Then we will use finite element (FE) modeling to simulate muscle contractions to compare mechanical capacity. Students working on this project will contribute to modeling a specific structural variation associated with a physiological condition.

More Information:

Grand Challenge: Not applicable.
Background on muscle function: https://muscle.ucsd.edu/refs/musintro/ CITI Human Subjects Training (citiprogram.org) Relevant publications:
  1. Seth, A. et al. OpenSim: Simulating musculoskeletal dynamics and neuromuscular control to study human and animal movement. PLoS Comput. Biol. 14, e1006223 (2018); https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1006223
  1. Blemker, S. S. (2017). Three-dimensional modeling of active muscle tissue. In Biomechanics of Living Organs (pp. 361–375). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-804009-6.00017-1
  2. Knaus, K. R., Handsfield, G. G. & Blemker, S. S. A 3D model of the soleus reveals effects of aponeuroses morphology and material properties on complex muscle fascicle behavior. Biomech. 130, 110877 (2022); https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiomech.2021.110877
  3. Fiorentino, N. M. & Blemker, S. S. Musculotendon variability influences tissue strains experienced by the biceps femoris long head muscle during high-speed running. Biomech. 47, 3325–3333 (2014); https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiomech.2014.08.010

Primary Contacts:

Professor Katie Knaus, katherine.knaus@mines.edu

Student Preparation

Qualifications

  • Introductory coding skills
  • Basic knowledge of mechanics of materials, dynamics and biology.
  • Knowledge of muscle architecture and biomechanics is preferred but not required
  • Experience with CAD (SolidWorks, Autodesk Inventor, etc.)
  • Experience with simulation software for MSK modeling (e.g., OpenSim) or FEA (i.e., SolidWorks Simulation, Abacus) is preferred but not required
  • Student should be self-motivated, with a desire to learn how computational mechanical modeling is used to develop insights into muscle biomechanics and human performance

TIME COMMITMENT (HRS/WK)

5

SKILLS/TECHNIQUES GAINED

  • Creating geometries for 3D biomechanics models with CAD
  • Analyzing experimental measurements of muscle and tendon properties
  • Implementing computational models of biomaterials (muscle, tendon, etc.)
  • Setting up, running, and analyzing results from finite element simulations of muscle contractions
  • Presenting written and oral results

MENTORING PLAN

The students will present brief research updates at biweekly lab meetings and meet with Dr. Knaus on the weeks in between. The students will also be supported by graduate students in the MyoEngineering lab for guidance with project questions and software use. The students will be integrated into Mines biomechanics research groups with communication via Slack and professional development activities.  There will be milestones with a projected timeline setup at the beginning of the academic year and will be revisited periodically.

Preferred Student Status

Junior
Senior
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