Cyborg Beast: A Low-Cost 3d-Printed Prosthetic Hand For Children With Upper-Limb Differences, Jorge Zuniga, Dimitrios Kastavelis, Jean Peck, John Stollberg, Marc Petrykowski, Adam Carson, Cristina Fernandez

Journal Articles

Background

There is an increasing number of children with traumatic and congenital hand amputations or reductions. Children's prosthetic needs are complex due to their small size, constant growth, and psychosocial development. Families’ financial resources play a crucial role in the prescription of prostheses for their children, especially when private insurance and public funding are insufficient. Electric-powered (i.e., myoelectric) and body-powered (i.e., mechanical) devices have been developed to accommodate children’s needs, but the cost of maintenance and replacement represents an obstacle for many families. Due to the complexity and high cost of these prosthetic hands, they are not accessible to children …

Abnormal Accumulation Of Desmin In Gastrocnemius Myofibers Of Patients With Peripheral Artery Disease: Associations With Altered Myofiber Morphology And Density, Mitochondrial Dysfunction And Impaired Limb Function, Panagiotis Koutakis, Dimitrios Miserlis, Sara A. Myers, Julian Kyung-Soo Kim, Zhen Zhu, Evlampia Papoutsi, Stanley A. Swanson, Gleb Haynatzki, Duy M. Ha, Lauren A. Carpenter, Rodney D. Mccomb, Jason M. Johanning, George P. Casale, Iraklis Pipinos

Journal Articles

Patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) develop a myopathy in their ischemic lower extremities, which is characterized by myofiber degeneration, mitochondrial dysfunction and impaired limb function. Desmin, a protein of the cytoskeleton, is central to maintenance of the structure, shape and function of the myofiber and its organelles, especially the mitochondria, and to translation of sarcomere contraction into muscle contraction. In this study, we investigated the hypothesis that disruption of the desmin network occurs in gastrocnemius myofibers of PAD patients and correlates with altered myofiber morphology, mitochondrial dysfunction, and impaired limb function. Using fluorescence microscopy, we evaluated desmin organization and …

Oncology Section Edge Task Force On Prostate Cancer Outcomes: A Systematic Review Of Clinical Measures Of Strength And Muscular Endurance, Mary Insana Fisher, Claire Davies, Genevieve Colon, Hannah Geyer, Lucinda Pfalzer

Physical Therapy Faculty Publications

Background: Strength deficits are a common morbidity following treatment for prostate cancer. Accurate assessment of strength and muscular endurance following prostate cancer treatments is essential to identify deficits and plan rehabilitation.

Purpose: To identify strength and muscular endurance outcome measures that possess strong psychometric properties and are clinically useful for examination of men treated for prostate cancer.

Methods: Multiple electronic databases were searched for articles published after 1995. Studies of tools used to assess strength and muscular endurance were included if they reported psychometric properties, were clinically feasible methods, performed on adults, and published in the English language. Each outcome …

Research Roundup From The Research Committee, Mary Insana Fisher, Shana Harrington

Physical Therapy Faculty Publications

With the expectations of accountability by consumers and third party payors for the efficacy of physical therapy practice, there has been a significant increase in the push to develop outcome measures in rehabilitation. One type of these measures, patient-reported outcome measures (PROs), are becoming increasingly more common in clinical practice. The American Physical Therapy Association’s Guide to Physical Therapist Practice 3rd edition includes outcomes assessment as an integral part of the Patient and Client Management model, and delineates that appropriate tests and measures depend upon established psychometric properties of the measurement.1 The Section on Research formed the Evidence Database to …

Research Round-Up: Manual Muscle Testing, Mary Insana Fisher, Shana Harrington

Physical Therapy Faculty Publications

Manual muscle testing was developed in response to the need to assess muscle strength losses during the polio outbreak in early part of the 20th century. The development of this original method is credited to Wilhelmine Wright and Robert W. Lovett, MD. Wright presented this method in 1912 in the Boston Medical Surgical Journal, and Lovett expanded the description of the testing method in 1916 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The development of quantifying muscle strength by rating force generated against external resistance was an important development in objectifying assessment methods of the time.

Today, manual muscle …

A Pilot Study Investigating The Reasons For Playing Through Pain And Injury: Emerging Themes In Men’S And Women’S Collegiate Rugby, Leilani Madrigal, Jamie Robbins, Diane L. Gill, Katherine Wurst

Athletic Performance Research

Collegiate rugby is a competitive, collision sport, yet insufficient empirical evidence exists regarding participants’ perspectives on pain and injury. This study addressed male and female rugby players’ experiences with injury, and their views about playing through pain and injury. Eleven rugby players (five male; six female) competing in USA Rugby’s National College 7’s tournament participated in semi structured interviews, which were recorded, transcribed, and content-analyzed. Two major themes emerged: passion for sport and sport ethic. Passion for sport was composed of (a) love of the sport, (b) meaning of the sport, and (c) desire to be on the field. Sport …

Dog Paddle Footfall Data, Frank E. Fish

Biology Data Repository

No abstract provided.

Dog Paddle Data Averages, Frank E. Fish

Biology Data Repository

No abstract provided.

A Methodology For Physically-Based Contact And Meniscus Properties In Rigid-Body Computational Knee Modeling, Stephen Wilson

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Determining natural inner knee mechanics is a longstanding goal for researchers with applications to prevention and treatment of knee trauma and osteoarthritis. Physical testing has only provided limited information of knee mechanics due to technical challenges and cost. Modeling has been used for decades to obtain some of this otherwise inaccessible information, and recently finite element analysis (FEA) has become a popular means to this end. However, FEA requires time intensive mesh-creation and has large computational requirements. Ideally, model creation should be easy and simulations should be fast to allow for sensitivity analysis. Although allowing easier model creation and offering …

Effects Of Controlled Whole-Body Vibration Training On Reducing Risk Of Falls Among Young Adults With Obesity, Jose Jesus Munoz

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Introduction: Among people with obesity, several factors increase the risk of falls: an abnormal body mass distribution, muscle weakness, and postural instability. Although standard exercise-based training could change these factors, a significant portion of people with obesity may be unable or unwilling to comply with long duration and high intensity training programs. Therefore, alternative training methods are highly demanded. Growing evidence supports that controlled whole-body vibration (CWBV) training can reduce risk of falls among older adults. No study has yet investigated the potential effect of CWBV training on reducing risk of falls among obese populations. The purpose of this study …

Gait Intervention For Improvements In Human Top Speed Running, Michelle Buechner

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Between individuals faster sprinting speeds are achieved by applying greater stance average forces against the running surface. Recent evidence further indicates that elite level performers also strike the ground with leg kinematics that differ from those of non-elites and that these leg movements act to enhance the force transients occurring in the milliseconds following foot-ground impact. I investigated whether sprint performance could be enhanced through a short term gait intervention, consisting of 3 laboratory training sessions wherein subjects (n = 6) completed 5 high-speed runs on an instrumented force treadmill at 90% of their measured top sprint. The subjects received …

A Multi-Directional Treadmill Training Program For Improving Gait, Balance, And Mobility In Individuals With Parkinson’S Disease: A Case Series, Kimberly Smith, Kurt Jackson, Kimberly Edginton Bigelow, Lloyd L. Laubach

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

Treadmill training is a commonly used intervention for improving gait in people with Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, little is known about how treadmill training may also influence balance and other aspects of mobility.

The purpose of this case series was to explore the feasibility and possible benefits of multi-directional treadmill training for individuals with PD. Four participants (62.3 ± 6.5 yrs, Hoehn & Yahr 2-4) performed 8 weeks of treadmill training 3 times per week. Weeks 1-4 included forward walking only, while weeks 5-8 included forward and multi-directional walking. Participants were tested every 4 weeks on 4 separate occasions. Outcome …

The Relationship Between Axonal Injury, Biomarker Expression And Mechanical Response In A Rodent Head Impact Acceleration Model, Yan Li

Wayne State University Dissertations

In the United States 1.4 million people sustain traumatic brain injury (TBI) each year, resulting in 235,000 hospitalizations and 50,000 fatalities annually. Traumatic axonal injury (TAI) is a serious outcome of TBI that accounts for 40-50% of hospitalizations due to head injury and one third of the mortality due to TBI, and it is difficult to diagnose and evaluate. The purpose of this dissertation is to determine mechanical injury predictors for TAI and identify potential biomarkers to evaluate TAI.

In this dissertation, a modified Marmarou impact acceleration injury model was developed to allow the monitoring of velocity of the impactor …

Human Feeding Biomechanics : Intraspecific Variation And Evolution, Justin Ledogar

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This study examines feeding biomechanics in modern human crania and those of extinct early members of the human lineage in order to better understand the selective pressures that influenced human craniofacial evolution. Specifically, this study uses finite element analysis to examine: 1) human feeding performance, in terms bite force production and craniofacial strength; 2) intraspecific variation in human feeding biomechanics; 3) feeding biomechanics in fossil hominins, including Australopithecus sediba and Homo habilis, species that are potentially at the root of modern human lineage, and 4) the functional role of purported facial buttresses.

Spatiotemporal Changes Posttreatment In Peripheral Arterial Disease, Sara A. Myers, Neil B. Huben, Jennifer M. Yentes, John D. Mccamley, Elizabeth E. Lyden, Iraklis I. Pipinos, Jason M. Johanning

Journal Articles

Accumulating evidence suggests revascularization of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) limbs results in limited improvement in functional gait parameters, suggesting underlying locomotor system pathology. Spatial and temporal (ST) gait parameters are well studied in patients with PAD at baseline and are abnormal when compared to controls. The purpose of this study was to systematically review and critically analyze the available data on ST gait parameters before and after interventions. A full review of literature was conducted and articles were included which examined ST gait parameters before and after intervention (revascularization and exercise). Thirty-three intervention articles were identified based on 154 articles …

Six Degree-Of-Freedom Analysis Of Hip, Knee, Ankle And Foot Provides Updated Understanding Of Biomechanical Work During Human Walking, Karl E. Zelik, Kota Z. Takahashi, Gregory S. Sawicki

Journal Articles

Measuring biomechanical work performed by humans and other animals is critical for understanding muscle–tendon function, jointspecific contributions and energy-saving mechanisms during locomotion. Inverse dynamics is often employed to estimate jointlevel contributions, and deformable body estimates can be used to study work performed by the foot. We recently discovered that these commonly used experimental estimates fail to explain whole-body energy changes observed during human walking. By re-analyzing previously published data, we found that about 25% (8 J) of total positive energy changes of/about the body’s center-of-mass and >30% of the energy changes during the Push-off phase of walking were not explained …

A Neuromechanics-Based Powered Ankle Exoskeleton To Assist Walking Post-Stroke: A Feasibility Study, Kota Z. Takahashi, Michael D. Lewek, Gregory S. Sawicki

Journal Articles

Background: In persons post-stroke, diminished ankle joint function can contribute to inadequate gait propulsion. To target paretic ankle impairments, we developed a neuromechanics-based powered ankle exoskeleton. Specifically, this exoskeleton supplies plantarflexion assistance that is proportional to the user’s paretic soleus electromyography (EMG) amplitude only during a phase of gait when the stance limb is subjected to an anteriorly directed ground reaction force (GRF). The purpose of this feasibility study was to examine the short-term effects of the powered ankle exoskeleton on the mechanics and energetics of gait.

Methods: Five subjects with stroke walked with a powered ankle exoskeleton …

The Effects Of Muscle Cross-Sectional Area On The Physical Working Capacity At The Fatigue Threshold, Meghan B. Barry, Jorge M. Zuniga, Makenna M. Brown, William M. Garnett, Zachary V. Hadden, Paul K. Nguyen, Geoffrey A. Supplee, Claire J. Svobada

Journal Articles

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of quadriceps cross-sectional area (CSA) of the dominant quadriceps muscle in the assessment of the physical working capacity at the fatigue threshold (PWCFT) during incremental cycle ergometry. Methods: Eighteen adults (9 men and 9 women; mean age ± SD = 20.5 ± 1.04 yr; mean body weight ± SD = 73.9 ± 18.2 kg; mean height ± SD = 172.3 ± 11.5 cm; mean dominant quadriceps CSA ± SD = 68.7 ± 14.5 cm2) performed an incremental cycle ergometry test to exhaustion while the electromyographic (EMG) signals …

Methodology For Performing Whole Body Pmhs Underbody Blast Impact Testing, And The Corresponding Response Of The Hybrid Iii Dummy And The Finite Element Dummy Model Under Similar Loading Condition, Karthik Somasundaram

Wayne State University Theses

In recent wars, the use of improvised explosive devices and landmines has dramatically increased as a tactical measure to counter armored vehicles. These weapons not only deform and damage the vehicle structure but also produce serious vertical deceleration injuries to mounted occupants. The reported injury patterns largely differ from those in an automotive crash and are often more severe than those in other vertical loading scenarios such as pilot seat ejection, helicopter crash, parachute landing and fall from height. High kinetic energy predominately along the principal vertical (Z-axis) over a short duration makes the underbody blast (UBB) loading conditions unique …

The Effect Of Training Older Adults In Tai Chi And Compensatory Stepping On Balance Control, Hannah L. Moore Miss

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Abstract

Introduction: In Canadian society, there is a growing prevalence of older adults and one of the main problems facing this generation today is the risk of falling. Tai Chi (TC) is a martial art that has demonstrated improvements in balance control. It uses a series of fluid movements that engage head, neck and trunk rotation while simultaneously reducing base of support. In addition, it has been demonstrated that training older adults by administering unpredictable perturbations to challenge balance better equips them to react successfully in response to balance perturbations. This study aims to determine the potential balance specific benefits …