Peter Cavanagh, Ph.D., D.Sc.
Department of Orhtopaedics & Sports Med (Comp., Robotics, & Exp. Biomechanics Lab)
E-mail: cavanagh@uw...


TITLE:

"Computational, Robotic, and Experimental Biomechanics in the Department of Orthopaedics: From Sports Injury to Space Travel"


ABSTRACT:

This seminar will introduce the audience to the broad spectrum of biomechanics research being conducted in the Computational, Robotics, and Experimental (CoRE) Biomechanics Laboratory in the UW Department of Orthopaedics.  This is a relatively new facility located on the 10th floor of the University of Washington Medical Center.  In the computational area, projects include finite element simulations of:  1) the foot and footwear; proximal femora of volunteers who have undergone 84-days of unloaded bedrest; 2) femora of rats who have experienced hindlimb unloading. Activity in our robotics lab is focused on understanding the mechanisms of injury to the anterior cruciate ligament, a structure that is disproportionately injured in young woman athletes. In addition, we have a small linear robot that is being used to develop assisted surgery techniques.  Examples of experimental human biomechanics will be drawn from our work designed to prevent the loss of bone mineral density in astronauts.  This currently includes the development of sensors for activity monitoring during space missions, the use of neural networks to identify the specific activities being performed, and the use of biomechanical simulation software to model joint loading and muscle forces during exercise countermeasures.  More details of our work can be found at:

http://www.orthop.washington.edu/Research/OurLabs/CoREBiomechanicsLab.aspx