Research Information System
Biomedical Engineering - Applications, Basis and Communications, vol.7, no.4, pp.365-378, 1995 (Scopus)
In this paper, a two-dimensional anatomically-based dynamic model of the human lower limb, consisting of the thigh and shank segments, is introduced. The hip joint is modelled as a hinge whereas a previously reported anatomical model is incorporated for the knee joint. In addition to the knee joint ligaments, the model includes the effects of five significant muscle groups involved in the motion of the lower extremity. A previously reported muscle model, which accepts normalized stimulus rate as input, is used for actuating the muscles. The model simulates the motions of the lower limb segments and calculates the accompanying structural forces in the knee joint under the action of muscles, gravity and externally applied forcing on the lower leg. The model is used to study the following two scenarios: First, an unexpected forcing of small duration is applied on the shank and the response is obtained assuming there exists no feedback at the intrinsic muscle level. When the thigh is assumed to be fixed, the ligament and the contact forces developed in the knee joint are much greater than the corresponding values when the trunk is considered fixed; which indicates that injury is more probable upon impulsive load on the lower leg if the motion of the thigh is restrained. Secondly, swinging phase of a kicking type of learned activity is simulated. When compared with the results of a compatible phenomenological model for the same muscle activation program, the present anatomical model yields similar motion patterns but considerable deviations in motion amplitudes.