• PNF and Movement
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.425-433
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• 2020

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of 7Hz vibration on the thickness of the rectus femoris, medial femur, rectus femoris tendon, and Achilles tendon. Methods: The statistical methods before and after working around the average value of each of the legs included repeated measures ANOVA. The subjects were 26 males residing in the N area, and we measured the change in muscle thickness and tendon thickness before, four weeks, and eight weeks after the experiment in two groups of 13 subjects each. The analysis method was a two-way repeated measurement variance analysis (ANOVA) with a significance level of 0.05 Results: The rectus femoris, medial broad muscle, rectus femur, and Achilles tendon showed significant increases in the interaction between the periods as well as between the periods and groups (p < 0.05). Conclusion: As a result of this study, the 7Hz vibration had a positive effect on the thickness of the rectus femoris and the vastus medialis muscle as well as the thickness of the rectus femoris tendon and Achilles tendon. It is expected to be used as basic data for vibrational exercises in the future studies and is expected to be used as an exercise to strengthen the leg muscles and tendons.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.175-182
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• 2015

Objective : The purpose of this study was to investigate difference in fascicle behavior of the medial gastrocnemius during the locomotion with varying intensities, such as gait and one-legged and two-legged vertical jumping. Methods : Six subjects (3 males and 3 females; age: $27.2{\pm}1.6yrs.$, body mass: $62.8{\pm}9.8kg$, height: $169.6{\pm}8.5cm$) performed normal gait (G) at preferred speed and maximum vertical jumping with one (OJ) and two (TJ) legs. While subjects were performing the given tasks, the hip, knee and ankle joint motion and ground reaction force was monitored using a 8-infrared camera motion analysis system with two forceplates. Simultaneously, electromyography of the triceps surae muscles, and the fascicle length of the medial gastrocnemius were recorded using a real-time ultrasound imaging machine. Results : Comparing to gait, the kinematic and kinetic parameters of TJ and OJ were found to be significantly different. Along with those parameters, change in the medial gastrocnemius (MG) muscle-tendon complex (MTC) length ($50.57{\pm}6.20mm$ for TJ and $44.14{\pm}5.39mm$ for OJ) and changes in the fascicle length of the MG ($18.97{\pm}3.58mm$ for TJ and $20.31{\pm}4.59mm$ for OJ) were observed. Although the total excursion of the MTC and the MG fascicle length during the two types of jump were not significantly different, however the pattern of length changes were found to be different. For TJ, the fascicle length maintained isometric longer during the propulsive phase than OJ. Conclusion : One-legged and two-legged vertical jumping use different muscle-tendon interaction strategies.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Intelligent Systems
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.147-152
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• 2016

Shape Memory Alloys (SMAs) undergo changes in shape and hardness when heated or cooled, and do so with great force. Since wire-type SMAs contract in length when heated and pull with a surprisingly large force and move silently, they can be used as actuactors which replace motors. These SMA actuators can be heated directly with electricity and can be used to create a wide range of motions. This paper presents the mechanical design and control for a three fingered, six degree-of-freedom robotic hand actuated by SMA actuators. Each finger has two joints and each joint is actuated with two tendons in the antagonistic manner. In order to create the sufficient force to make the smooth motion, the tendon is composed of two SMA actuators in parallel. For controlling the current to heat the SMA actuators, PWM drivers are used. In experiments, the antagonistic interaction of fingers are evaluated.