Session: MSNDC-06-02: Nonlinear and Computational Dynamics Aspects in Biomechanics

Paper Number: 97951

97951 - Muscle Force Estimation for a Simple Bicep Curl 

Human motion is driven by the actuation of skeletal muscles in response to electrochemical processes generated by the nervous system. These processes, in turn generate and transmit forces via muscles to the skeletal system to produce a desired movement. This work details a computational model to estimate the forces exerted by the three primary elbow flexors (bicep brachii, brachoradialis and brachialis) during a biceps curl. The torque required at the elbow can be readily computed using inverse dynamic analysis for a range of bicep curl motion. However, there are infinite ways, in which the three muscle groups can exert forces to contribute to the same torque. In other words, it is an over-actuated system, which tends to be generally the case for neuromuscular control actions. The actual muscle forces depend on how the brain optimizes the muscle action. With our simulation model, we compute the individual muscle forces that produce the desired motion by minimizing three commonly hypothesized cost functions - sum of forces, total energy and maximum stress. Furthermore, different muscle models are developed to see the behavior forces length and force velocity on muscle activation. Finally, the most detailed muscle model is solved for a case study and the muscle activation obtained for bicep brachii is compared with the EMG data to validate our model results.

Presenting Author: Muhammad Hassaan Ahmed University of Califonia, Merced

Presenting Author Biography: Muhammad Hassaan Ahmed received his B.E degree in Mechanical Engineering from National University of Science and Technology (NUST), Pakistan in 2018 and received GPA based scholarships in all eight semesters. He has worked as an RA in National Centre of Robotics and Automation (NCRA). His research interests include biomedical devices, robotics and computational dynamics. He is currently doing his Ph.D in Mechanical Engineering from University of California Merced, USA. His current research work involves fluid structure interaction (FSI) for flexible objects in viscous fluids.

Authors:

Muhammad Hassaan Ahmed University of Califonia, Merced
Jacques-Ezechiel N’guessan University of Califonia, Merced
Matthew Leineweber San Jose State University
Sachin Goyal University of Califonia, Merced