• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.61-67
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• 2018

Objective: The human body is often modelled as a spring-mass system. Lower extremity stiffness has been considered to be one of key factor in the performance enhancement of running, jumping, and hopping involved sports activities. There are several different classification of lower extremity stiffness consisting of vertical stiffness, leg stiffness, joint stiffness, as well as muscle and tendon stiffness. The primary purpose of this paper was to review the literature and describe different stiffness models and discuss applications of stiffness models while engaging in sports activities. In addition, this paper provided a current update of the lower extremity literature as it investigates the relationships between lower extremity stiffness and both functional performance and injury. Summary: Because various methods for measuring lower extremity stiffness are existing, measurements should always be accompanied by a detailed description including type of stiffness, testing method and calculation method. Moreover, investigator should be cautious when comparing lower extremity stiffness from different methods. Some evidence highlights that optimal degree of lower extremity stiffness is required for successful athletic performance. However, the actual magnitude of stiffness required to optimize performance is relatively unexplored. Direct relationship between lower extremity stiffness and lower extremity injuries has not clearly been established yet. Overall, high stiffness is potentially associate risk factors of lower extremity injuries although some of the evidence is controversial. Prospective injures studies are necessary to confirm this relationship. Moreover, further biomechanical and physiological investigation is needed to identify the optimal regulation of the lower limb stiffness behavior and its impact on athletic performance and lower limb injuries.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.625-642
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• 2016

The rapid technology developments in smartphones have created a significant opportunity for their use in structural live load measurements. This paper presents extensive experiments conducted in two stages to investigate this opportunity. Shaking table tests were carried out in the first stage using selected popular smartphones to measure the sinusoidal waves of various frequencies, the sinusoidal sweeping, and earthquake waves. Comparison between smartphone measurements and real inputs showed that the smartphones used in this study gave reliable measurements for harmonic waves in both time and frequency domains. For complex waves, smartphone measurements should be used with caution. In the second stage, three-dimensional motion capture technology was employed to explore the capacity of smartphones for measuring the movement of individuals in walking, bouncing and jumping activities. In these tests, reflective markers were attached to the test subject. The markers' trajectories were recorded by the motion capture system and were taken as references. The smartphone measurements agreed well with the references when the phone was properly fixed. Encouraged by these experimental validation results, smartphones were attached to moving participants of this study. The phones measured the acceleration near the center-of-mass of his or her body. The human-induced loads were then reconstructed by the acceleration measurements in conjunction with a biomechanical model. Satisfactory agreement between the reconstructed forces and that measured by a force plate was observed in several instances, clearly demonstrating the capability of smartphones to accurately assist in obtaining human-induced load measurements.

• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.141-146
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• 2021

Background: The purpose of the present study was to determine how long superior screws alone or in combination with posterior placement of metaglene screws protruding and penetrating into the scapular spine in reverse total shoulder arthroplasty affect the strength of the scapular spine in a fresh cadaveric scapular model. Methods: Seven fresh cadaver scapulas were allocated to the control group (short posterior and superior screws) and seven scapulars to the study group (spine base fixation with a four long screws, three with both long superior and long posterior screws). Results: The failure load was lower in the spine fixation group (long screw, 869 N vs. short screw, 1,123 N); however, this difference did not reach statistical significance (p>0.05). All outside-in long superior or superior plus posterior screws failed due to scapular spine base fracture; failures in the short screw group were due to acromion fracture. An additional posterior outside-in screw failed to significantly decrease the failure load of the acromion spine. Conclusions: The present study highlights the significance of preventing a cortical breach or an outside-in configuration when a superior or posterior screw is inserted into the scapular spine base.

• Journal of Auto-vehicle Safety Association
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.95-101
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• 2023

As the popularization of autonomous vehicles is anticipated, it is expected that the variety of passenger postures will diversify. However, the current vehicle safety system is expected to be inadequate for accommodating these diverse passenger postures, particularly in reclined positions where severe injuries have been reported in frontal collisions. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the biomechanical responses and tolerances of occupants in reclined postures. In this study, the behavior and injuries of a Hybrid-III dummy model in a reclined position are analyzed through frontal collision sled simulations equipped with the semi-rigid seat provided by the previous study, three-point safety belt with pretensioner and load limiter, and airbag models. The results are evaluated by comparing thouse reponses with post-mortem human surrogate (PMHS) data, and the findings are expected to be applicable to the basic design of a new restraint system suitable for various postures in autonomous vehicles.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea CI
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.7-17
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• 2009

The precise analysis of exercise data for designing an effective rehabilitation system is very important as a feedback for planing the next exercising step. Many subjective and reliable research outcomes that were obtained by analysis and evaluation for the human motor ability by various methods of biomechanical experiments have been introduced. Most of them include quantitative analysis based on basic statistical methods, which are not practical enough for application to real clinical problems. In this situation, data mining technology can be a promising approach for clinical decision support system by discovering meaningful hidden rules and patterns from large volume of data obtained from the problem domain. In this research, in order to find relational rules between posture training type and muscle activation pattern, we investigated an application of the WAR(Weishted Association Rule) to the biomechanical data obtained mainly for evaluation of postural control ability. The discovered rules can be used as a quantitative prior knowledge for expert's decision making for rehabilitation plan. The discovered rules can be used as a more qualitative and useful priori knowledge for the rehabilitation and clinical expert's decision-making, and as a index for planning an optimal rehabilitation exercise model for a patient.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.9-15
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• 2017

Recently, flexible cages have been introduced in an attempt to absorb and reduce the abnormal load transfer along the anterior parts of the spine. They are designed to be used with the pedicle screw systems to allow some mobility at the index level while containing ROM at the adjacent level. In this study, a finite element (FE) study was performed to assess biomechanical efficacies of the flexible cage when combined with pedicle screws with flexible rods. The post-operated models were constructed by modifying the L4-5 of a previously-validated 3-D FE model of the intact lumbar spine (L2-S1): (1) Type 1, flexible cage only; (2) Type 2, pedicle screws with flexible rods; (3) Type 3, interbody fusion cage plus pedicle screws with rigid rods; (4) Type 4, interbody fusion cage plus Type 2; (5) Type 5, Type 1 plus Type 2. Flexion/extension of 10 Nm with a compressive follower load of 400N was applied. As compared to the Type 3 (62~65%) and Type 4 (59~62%), Type 5 (53~55%) was able to limit the motion at the operated level effectively, despite moderate reduction at the adjacent level. It was also able to shift the load back to the anterior portions of the spine thus relieving excessively high posterior load transfer and to reduce stress on the endplate by absorbing the load with its flexible shape design features. The likelihood of component failure of flexble cage remained less than 30% regardless of loading conditions when combined with pedicle screws with flexible rods. Our study demonstrated that flexible cages when combined with posterior dynamic system may help reduce subsidence of cage and degeneration process at the adjacent levels while effectively providing stability at the operated level.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.199-209
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• 2010

The locking compression plates-distal femur(LCP-DF) are being widely used for surgical management of the extra-articular complex fractures of the distal femur. They feature locking mechanism between the screws and the screw holes of the plate to provide stronger fixation force with less number of screws than conventional compression bone plate. However, their biomechanical efficacies are not fully understood, especially regarding the number of the screws inserted and their optimal configurations. In this study, we investigated effects of various screw configurations in the shaft and the condylar regions of the femur in relation to structural stability of LCP-DF system. For this purpose, a baseline 3-D finite element (FE) model of the femur was constructed from CT-scan images of a normal healthy male and was validated. The extra-articular complex fracture of the distal femur was made with a 4-cm defect. Surgical reduction with LCP-DF and bone screws were added laterally. To simulate various cases of post-op screw configurations, screws were inserted in the shaft (3~5 screws) and the condylar (4~6 screws) regions. Particular attention was paid at the shaft region where screws were inserted either in clustered or evenly-spaced fashion. Tied-contact conditions were assigned at the bone screws-plate whereas general contact condition was assumed at the interfaces between LCP-DF and bone screws. Axial compressive load of 1,610N(2.3 BW) was applied on the femoral head to reflect joint reaction force. An average of 5% increase in stiffness was found with increase in screw numbers (from 4 to 6) in the condylar region, as compared to negligible increase (less than 1%) at the shaft regardless of the number of screws inserted or its distribution, whether clustered or evenly-spaced. At the condylar region, screw insertion at the holes near the fracture interface and posterior locations contributed greater increase in stiffness (9~13%) than any other locations. Our results suggested that the screw insertion at the condylar region can be more effective than at the shaft during surgical treatment of fracture of the distal femur with LCP-DF. In addition, screw insertion at the holes close to the fracture interface should be accompanied to ensure better fracture healing.

• Journal of rehabilitation welfare engineering & assistive technology
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.45-50
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• 2012

Thoracolumbar orthosis has been used for the rehabilitation of the patients with senile kyphosis. Recently, a number of different thoracolumbar orthosis designs have been introduced but its biomechanical effectiveness still remain unknown. In this study, we compared the pressure distribution on the surface of the trunk and stresses on the orthosis in relation to changes in connecting frame designs (Type 1, one-connecting frame type; Type 2, two-connecting frame type; Type 3, all-in-one type) using finite element (FE) models under different motions of the trunk. The results showed that Type 3 distributed the pressure on the trunk most evenly followed by Type 2 and Type 1 and the difference between Type 1 and Type 2 was negligible. ROM was limited most effectively by Type 3 ($8.5{\sim}9.4^{\circ}$), followed by Type 2 ($11.3{\sim}13.9^{\circ}$) and Type 1 ($12.1{\sim}15.4^{\circ}$). The ratio between the peak von Mises stress and yield strength of each material remained less than 20% regardless of orthosis type indicating low likelihood of component failure. In conclusion, our study found that all-in-one type of orthosis was the most effective design for the conservative treatment of spinal deformity in terms of function and comfort.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.308-318
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• 2022

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the biomechanical properties of fractured adjacent soft tissue during closed reduction after forearm fracture using the finite element method. To accomplish this, a finite element (FE) model of the forearm including soft tissue was constructed, and the material properties reported in previous studies were implemented. Based on this, nine finite element models with different fracture types and fracture positions, which are the main parameters, were subjected to finite element analysis under the same load and boundary conditions. The load condition simulated the traction of increasing the fracture site spacing from 0.4 mm to 1.6 mm at intervals of 0.4 mm at the distal end of the radioulnar bone. Through the finite element analysis, the fracture type, fracture location, and displacement were compared and analyzed for the fracture site spacing of the fractured portion and the maximum equivalent stress of the soft tissues adjacent to the fracture(interosseous membrane, muscle, fat, and skin). The results of this study are as follows. The effect of the major parameters on the fracture site spacing of the fractured part is negligible. Also, from the displacement of 1.2 mm, the maximum equivalent stress of the interosseous membrane and muscle adjacent to the fractured bone exceeds the ultimate tensile strength of the material. In addition, it was confirmed that the maximum equivalent stresses of soft tissues(fat, skin) were different in size but similar in trend. As a result, this study was able to numerically confirm the damage to the adjacent soft tissue due to the fracture site spacing during closed reduction of forearm fracture.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.228-235
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• 2004

The development and proliferation of the mandibular condyle can be altered by changes in the biomechanical environment of the temporomandibular joint. The biomechanical loads were varied by feeding diets of different consistencies. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether changes of masticatory forces by feeding a soft diet can alter the trabecular bone morphology of the growing mouse mandibular condyle, by means of micro-computed tomography. Thirty-six female, 21 days old, C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into two groups. Mice in the hard-diet control group were fed standard hard rodent pellets for 8 weeks. The soft-diet group mice were given soft ground diets for 8 weeks and their lower incisors were shortened by cutting with a wire cutter twice a week to reduce incision. After 8 weeks all animals were killed after they were weighed. Following sacrifice, the right mandibular condyle was removed. High spatial resolution tomography was done with a Skyscan Micro-CT 1072. Cross-sections were scanned and three-dimensional images were reconstructed from 2D sections. Morphometric and nonmetric parameters such as bone volume(BV), bone surface(BS), total volume(TV), bone volume fraction(BV/TV), surface to volume ratio(BS/BV), trabecular thickness(Tb. Th.), structure model index(SMI) and degree of anisotropy(DA) were directly determined by means of the software package at the micro-CT system. From directly determined indices the trabecular number(Tb. N.) and trabecular separation(Tb. Sp.) were calculated according to parallel plate model of Parfitt et al.. After micro-tomographic imaging, the samples were decalcified, dehydrated, embedded and sectioned for histological observation. The results were as follow: 1. The bone volume fraction, trabecular thickness(Tb. Th.) and trabecular number(Tb. N.) were significantly decreased in the soft-diet group compared with that of the control group (p<0.05). 2. The trabecular separation(Tb. Sp.) was significantly increased in the soft-diet group(p<0.05). 3. There was no significant differences in the surface to volume ratio(BS/BV), structure model index(SMI) and degree of anisotropy(DA) between the soft-diet group and hard-diet control group (p>0.05). 4. Histological sections showed that the thickness of the proliferative layer and total cartilage thickness were significantly reduced in the soft-diet group.