The possibility of very detailed modelling of a part of the body is demonstrated by the simulation of the cervical spine. Challenging problems including stability, contact, impact, and control will be discussed in connection with efficient computer methods to solve the underlying equations. The first part of the lecture will present an overview of multibody dynamics of the human musculoskeletal system. The second part will deal with numerical methods used to solve the equations of motion. The objective of this tutorial is to provide students with a concise but rigorous overview of analytical dynamics needed to build computer models of the musculoskeletal system.
Applications range from surgery simulation to motion synthesis of virtual actors.
Motion of the skeletal system is considered from a multibody standpoint. Kinematics variables commonly used to parameterize the motion of the musculoskeletal system will be presented. Efficient methods to generate the equations of motion and associated numerical integrators will then be discussed. The lecture will conclude with a brief overview of possible future directions in computational musculoskeletal biomechanics research such as the merging of multibody simulations with finite element models or efficient optimal control algorithm will be briefly discussed. In addition, the scapula can not easily be tracked in-vivo, especially under dynamic conditions.