Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 7
Clinical Gait Analysis and Musculoskeletal
Modeling
Karelia Tecante, Frank Seehaus, Bastian Welke, Gavin Olender, Michael
Schwarze, Sean Lynch and Christoph Hurschler
7.1 Introduction
This chapter intends to provide an overview of important concepts of human gait
analysis and dynamic simulation of multi-body (MBS) systems for clinical applica-
tions. Basic gait concepts are introduced just enough to understand that walking and
running involves a large series of musculoskeletal adjustments with specific func-
tions to achieve motion and thus, is a complex process. In recent years, engineering
and computer science tools developed with a primary focus on specific engineering
problems have expanded into the study of complex dynamic biological structures.
A specific area of interest is human locomotion, specifically walking and/or run-
ning (gait). These movements are achieved by the interaction and coordination of
many elements of the musculoskeletal system in conjunction with other systems such
as the neurological system. Research has been done to better understand gait and thus,
researchers investigate the mechanics of the muscle, the relationships between mus-
cles and bones and the motions of joints. In the clinical area, gait analysis is used to
plan surgery, for therapy treatments, recovery assessment and for the development
of tools for diagnosis. However, gait analysis has its limits since it can only reveal
the external forces in the joint and not the surrounding muscle forces or their point of
application [
1
,
2
]. As a result, in the last decade, research has focused on multi-body
simulation (also referred as musculoskeletal modeling) with the aim to integrate the
elements of the musculoskeletal system and the joint mechanics in order to better
understand what has been learned through in vivo and in vitro experiments.
The chapter is divided as follows: Sect.
7.2
presents an introduction of basic con-
cepts of gait and motion capture which are crucial to gait analysis and musculoskele-
tal modeling. Section
7.3
gives a short description of the necessary steps to build
a musculoskeletal model for dynamic simulation, which involves a series of long
